The Crime of the Century
by RascalFlattsS
Summary: Summary: The biggest white collar crime is about to go down in New York City. There’s just one small thing that stands in the way….. Spoilers for entire first season . Neal/Peter friendship/brotherly fluff. NO SLASH!
1. Chapter 1

The Crime of the Century

By RascalFlattsS

Summary: The biggest white collar crime is about to go down in New York City. There's just one small thing that stands in the way…..

Disclaimer: I do not own White Collar.

Warning: Spoilers for Book of Hours

Chapter 1: Ouch! That Had to Hurt…..

He was standing over the pier looking down at the Hudson River. He turned to his associate, Lucas. "Is everything ready?" he asked, his voice gruff.

Lucas nodded. "It is. There is just one small problem that could possibly be a big problem."

"And what is that?" he asked.

"The FBI," said Lucas. He pulled out a folder and opened. A black and white photograph was sitting on top. "FBI Agent Peter Burke has stepped up his game. His closing rate has shot back up to a hundred percent in the past three months."

"Interesting," he said. "It looks like Agent Burke has a secret weapon."

"He does," said Lucas. He grabbed the next photograph, showing Agent Burke standing next to another man, wearing a certain hat.

"Neal Caffrey out and is working for the FBI," said Lucas grimly.

"I should have guessed," he said. "Caffrey's good. He's the only one who pulled one over me. " He paused. "And lived to tell the tale. You are right, Lucas; Caffrey is a _big _problem."

"What should we do?" asked Lucas, timidly.

"What else?" he asked. "Eliminate Neal Caffrey."

* * *

"Hey Peter," said Neal causally as he strolled into Peter's office. Peter didn't even look up from his computer screen. Neal sat down in the chair, propped his feet up on his desk and took off his hat.

Peter groaned. "Do you always have to wear that stupid hat?"

"It's not stupid," said Neal. "And yes, I do." He placed it back on his head. "So, what do we have on the calendar for today?"

Peter pointed a large stack of manila folders sitting on his desk. "Cold cases."

Neal smiled and picked up the first folder. "Hey Peter."

"What Neal?"

"Five bucks says I solve one of the cold cases before lunch," said Neal, grinning.

Peter looked up at him. Then he smiled. "You're on!"

For the next two hours, Neal sat quietly in Peter's office reading through cold cases. Neal sat down one of the folders and looked at the clock. Ten o' clock. Perfect time for a coffee break.

Neal stood up. "I'm going grab a cup of coffee. You want anything?"

"Where you going?" asked Peter, not even bothering to look up.

"To the coffee shop across the street," said Neal. He groaned when he saw Peter raised his eyebrow. "Oh c'mon Peter! When are you going to learn to trust me? "

"Based on what? " asked Peter.

"Hey! I thought after the whole thing with the bible, you'd learn to trust me," said Neal. "I mean I didn't take the bible OR the money."

"I know," said Peter. "Barelli keeps complaining about the bullet hole in his bible."

Neal threw his hands up in the air. "What was I suppose to do?! Let her shot me?"

"Of course not," said Peter quickly. He sighed. "Fine. But if you're not back in ten minutes-"

"You'll throw me back in the slammer, I know," said Neal. He turned and walked out the door.

"Bring me back a decaf!" shouted Peter as Neal walked away. "And no sugar in it this time!"

* * *

"Here you go," said the barista, handing Neal two coffee cups. "One cup of black coffee and one cup of decaf with _extra _sugar."

Neal smiled like the Chester cat. "Thank you so much." He grabbed both coffee cups and walked out the door. He was about to walk out the door when someone bumped into him, almost causing him to drop both cups.

"Whoops!" said the man. Neal looked at him. He had blonde hair and hazel eyes "I am so sorry about that! Are you okay, man?"

"Yeah," said Neal, slowly. "I'm fine. Just be careful next time, man."

"Yeah of course," he said. "Have a good day!"

"Yeah, you too," said Neal, slowly. Something didn't seem right. Neal shrugged his shoulders brushing it off as some clumsy idiot and walked out the door.

Neal walked back always towards the crosswalk. He waited at the corner until the light changed. When the walk sign light up, Neal stepped out into the street.

He was about halfway across the street when a black car came out of nowhere. Before Neal could get out of the way, the car slammed into him, head on.

Neal was suddenly thrown into the air. Then as suddenly as he was airborne, he was landing hard on the pavement. His right arm crumpled underneath him and Neal was sure he heard bones snap. His rib cage also took the brunt of the fall. He gasped in pain as he felt all the air being sucked out his lungs with a hot, blinding white pain. He tried to keep his head from slamming into the pavement, but it was no use.

His last conscious thought was that Peter was going to kill him for dropping the coffee.

* * *

Peter was sitting in his office, waiting for Neal to come back with the cup of coffee. He glanced down at his watch. Neal had been gone eleven minutes.

_Probably putting extra sugar in my coffee…._

Jones appeared at his door, looked rushed. "Agent Burke, the director needs you downstairs ASAP."

Peter nodded. He grabbed his gun and headed towards the door. "Neal should be back on his way with coffee. Have him stay here until I get back," Peter ordered as he ran to the elevator. He pushed the button and the doors opened. Peter stepped in. The doors were about to close when Jones slipped into the elevator.

Peter glared at him. "What are you going, Jones? I told you wait at my office for Neal!"

"Sir, you left before I could tell you," said Jones. "Caffrey is the reason the chief wants to see you downstairs."

Peter punched the wall. "Damn it! He ran, didn't he?"

The elevator door opened and Peter ran out. Jones followed behind him. "Wait! You don't understand! Caffrey didn't---"

Jones never got a chance to finish as Peter ran out through the door. Outside it was a mad house. The street outside was packed with emergency vehicles, all their lights flashing. They all seemed to be gathered around a central figure, but Peter was too far away to see.

"What happened here?" Peter asked one of the NYPD officers.

"Hit and run," said the officer.

Peter nodded and looked around for the director. As he was looking around for the director, his eyes landed on a small item lying on the ground. His eyes widened in horror. He'd recognize that hat anywhere.

Peter snapped out of his shocked state and pushed his way through the crowd. He saw Neal lying on the gurney. His head was wrapped in a white bandage. His right shoulder looked strongly dislocated and bent. He was unconsciousness.

"What happened?" asked Peter. "Is he going to be okay?"

The female paramedic looked up-she had just finished putting an IV in Neal's arm. "He has a concussion and his arm is dislocated and the wrist is broken. Looks like he broke a couple of ribs too. We're taking him to the hospital to make sure there's no internal bleeding."

Peter nodded. "I'm riding with him."

"Sir," she started but Peter stopped her off.

"Listen, this guy is a FBI consultant," said Peter sharply. "And he's a felon. Didn't you see that ankle bracelet on his ankle? It's not for decoration! He is my responsibility. So I'm riding with him. Got that?!"

The female paramedic nodded. "Hop in."

Peter jumped in the back and turned to Jones. "Jones, I want you to find the SOB who did this and have him in custody by the time I get back, got it?"

Jones nodded. "Yes sir."

The paramedic hopped in and the ambulance took off to the nearest hospital.

Peter looked down at Neal's still form. He sighed. "How is that you always seems to get into trouble?"

* * *

It was two hours later. Peter was sitting in a hospital waiting room, drinking a very bad cup of coffee. Neal had a broken wrist, a dislocated shoulder, and two broken ribs doctor wanted to run a CT scan, just to make sure that there was no inter-cranium bleeding.

"Agent Burke?" Peter looked up and saw Jones standing in the doorway.

"How is he?" Jones asked.

"Broken wrist, dislocated shoulder, and two broken ribs," said Peter. "Right now they are running a CT scan." Jones nodded.

"What did you find?" asked Peter.

"We pulled the security tape," said Jones. He handed a file of pictures to Peter. Peter opened it and looked through the pictures.

"Did you get a license plate number off the car?" asked Peter.

Jones shook his head. "No. The plate's covered, making it unreadable." He paused. "There's something else, Peter."

Peter looked up from the pictures. "What is it?"

"The car didn't pull out into the intersection until Caffrey was already in the intersection," said Jones. He paused. "Someone deliberately tried to kill Neal Caffrey."

* * *

A/N: Dun, dun, dun!

This story came to me as I was studying tonight. Let me know what you think! Please R&R!


	2. Chapter 2

The Crime of the Century

By RascalFlattsS

A/N: Thank you all so much for all your great reviews! You guys are awesome! They brightened my day.

More Neal Whumpage! Hooray! Also in this chapter, there is more of the Neal/Peter friendship and also a little bit of Neal/Peter brotherly fluff. Enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 2: Talk About a Bad Day-It Must Be Monday

Peter looked up at Jones, shocked. "Are you sure?" he asked, his voice full of concern.

Jones nodded. "Positive. The car speed up as It moved through the intersection. And the driver never attempted to hit the brakes or slow down before or after he hit Caffrey."

Peter nodded, trying to register what Jones was saying.

"Jones, I want you to head back to the office and dig through Neal's file," said Peter, his voice filled with anger. "Find out his entire past partner's, clients, _anyone _who could possibly have a grudge against him. Then, I want you to comb through all the cases he worked on for us."

"But everyone Caffrey helped us arrest in jail," started Jones.

"I am well aware of that," snapped Peter. "It wouldn't be the first time a family member or friend took revenge after a family member was locked up. Or one of them could have put a hit on him while still being in jail."

"Get Cruz to help you," Peter added. "I also want you to find Neal's friend. He might know who would want Neal dead. And get Franks and Granger down here. I want guards posted on Neal's door."

"Yes sir," said Jones.

"Agent Burke?"

Peter and Jones looked up to see a doctor standing there in front of them. Peter immediately stood up and walked over to him.

"How is he?" Peter asked.

"Mr. Caffrey is going to be fine," said the doctor, smiling.

"Thank God," said Peter softly, relieved. "What about the CT scan?

"The CT revealed no inter-cranium bleeding," said the doctor. "Mr. Caffrey woke up a few minutes ago and I determined that he has a moderate concussion. He will need to be monitored for the next twenty-four hours as a precaution."

Peter nodded. "What about his other injuries?"

"Mr. Caffrey has two broken ribs, a broken wrist and a dislocated shoulder," said the doctor. "But I assure you, he will be just fine. He was very lucky."

Peter nodded, "You have no idea."

"Doctor," said Jones, stepping up in the conversation. "We have reason to believe to believe that someone deliberately tried to murder Caffrey."

The doctor paled at those words. Peter also paled too. Jones was right. Someone had tried to _murder _Neal. And they almost succeeded.

The doctor sighed. "I was afraid of that. His injuries are consistent with that kind of trauma."

"We will be putting guards on his door," said Jones. "And we need to limit access to his room to hospital personnel and FBI agents."

The doctor nodded, "Of course."

"Can I see him?" Peter asked.

The doctor nodded. "He's in room 702. If you or Mr. Caffrey has any more questions, please have the nurses page me."

"Thank you, Doctor," said Peter, shaking the doctor's hand. The doctor smiled and walked away.

Peter turned to Jones, "Call me the moment, you have something." Jones nodded and walked out the door.

* * *

Lucas walked over to the nearest payphone. He put on a pair of leather gloves before picking up the receiver. He inserted a quarter and dialed a number.

"_Yes_?" said his boss.

"It's me," said Lucas.

"_How did it go_?" asked the Boss. "_Is Caffrey dead_?"

Lucas shook his head. "No sir. Somehow, he managed to survive being hit by the car."

He heard a deep sigh over the phone. "_Is there any good news_?"

"Rodgers managed to clip him pretty good," said Lucas. "Caffrey must have been injured pretty badly. He was unconscious when they loaded him up into the ambulance." He paused for a moment. "Agent Burke went with him."

"_Do they know yet_?" the Boss asked.

"I'm sure by now, they do," said Lucas. "Rodgers never slowed down when he hit Caffrey, plus he ran the red while doing it. It's pretty obvious that it was deliberate."

"_Which means that Caffrey is now under FBI protection_," said the Boss bitterly. "_Did Caffrey recognize _you?"

"No," said Lucas. "Not even when I bumped into him at the coffee shop. He doesn't have a clue."

"_Excellent_," said the Boss. "_Where are you now?"_

"Outside of the hospital," said Lucas, looking up at the large building. "I thought I'd have a little fun with Caffrey before I kill him."

* * *

Peter sighed and walked down the hall to room 702. He walked into the room. Neal was lying on the bed. His right arm was in a sling with his right wrist in a cast. A white bandage covered his head.

Neal's eyes snapped open when Peter walked on. Peter smiled. "How is that only you could get into trouble on a coffee run."

Neal smiled, "What can I say? It's a skill."

Peter walked over and sat down in a chair by the bed. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I got hit by a car," said Neal.

"Do you remember what happened?" asked Peter.

"I was walking across the street," said Neal slowly. "And then the next thing I remember was flying through the air. Then I landed hard on the ground. There was pain everywhere. And then-" Neal paused. "I can't remember anything else."

"Do you remember the car?" asked Peter. "Or the driver?"

Neal shook his head. "No. I'm sorry. Don't you have the driver in custody or something?"

Peter shook his head, "It was hit and run. We," he paused for a moment. "we haven't caught him yet."

Neal looked at him for a moment. "Well, at least you got a decent picture of the car, right?"

Peter swallowed hard, "Neal, the car…um…it didn't have any license on it." Peter paused for a moment. "According to the evidence gathered at the scene, it appears that the car didn't enter the intersection until you were in the crosswalk. And the car appears to have never hit the brakes, before or after he hit you."

Neal looked up at Peter, "What does that mean?"

Peter took a deep breath, "We think whoever was driving that car deliberately hit you."

"Oh," said Neal. He leaned back against the pillows.

There was a minute of silence. "Neal, you okay?" asked Peter.

"Yeah," said Neal, sarcastically. "I'm great. I'm just dandy, Peter. Someone tried to kill me. And who knows, next time, they might actually succeed."

"Hey!" said Peter. He jumped up out of the chair and firmly grabbed a hold of Neal's shoulders. "No one is going to kill you! No one! Do you understand me?"

"But Peter-"

"No buts!" interrupted Peter. "You work for the FBI now. We do not let people just kill our consultants. I do not just let people kill members of _my_ team. I will not let anyone kill you. Do you understand?"

Neal nodded. "Okay."

"Good," said Peter, smiling a little. He sat back down in the chair.

"So what do we do from here?" asked Neal.

"From this moment on, you are under twenty-four hour FBI protection," said Peter, "until we catch the SOB."

Neal sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Neal, is there anyone who would want you dead?" asked Peter.

Neal shook his head. "No, I don't think so."

"Any old clients you pissed off? Any old partners?" asked Peter.

"No," said Neal. "I mean sure, I made people mad and whatnot, but not enough to kill me."

"What about your friend?" asked Peter.

"You think he wants to kill me?" asked Neal. "He wouldn't be a good friend."

Peter laughed. "No, I mean maybe he might know something. I need to talk to him."

Neal sighed. "I don't know if that's such a good idea, Peter. He really doesn't talk to the FBI. He doesn't even like that I talk to you."

Peter sighed throwing his hands up in the air. "I'm trying to help you, Neal!" He ran his fingers through his hair. "What about Kate?"

Neal stiffened at the name. "No," he said.

Peter ignored him. "Was there anyone who had a grudge against her? And maybe they are taking it out on you?"

"NO!" shouted Neal. He leaned back on the bed, blinking rapidly. He closed his eyes and took a couple of deep breathes. "Everyone loved Kate. No one hated her," he added softly.

Peter set a hand on Neal's shoulder. "It will be okay, Neal."

Neal nodded.

"Let's go back to this morning," said Peter, changing the subject. "Did you notice anyone watching you at the coffee shop?"

Neal shook his head. "No."

"Anyone who seemed out of place?" asked Peter. "Anyone acting strange?"

Peter watched as Neal froze, as if he just realized something.

"What is it?" asked Peter.

"I was walking out of the coffee shop," said Neal, slowly. "And there was this guy walking in. He bumped into me, almost knocking the coffee out of my hands. He had one of those stupid grins on his face-like he was happy he almost spilt coffee on me."

Peter nodded. "Okay. What else?"

"I don't know what it was about him," said Neal. "But something felt off about him. I can't quite put my finger on it…"

"What he look like?" asked Peter.

Neal closed his eyes and thought for a few moments before speaking. "He was about my height and he had blonde hair." Neal thought for a few moments, trying to remember the guy from the coffee shop but he came up with a blank. "Err! I can't remember!"

"That's okay, Neal," said Peter. "Memory loss isn't uncommon with concussions. Don't worry about it."

"But what if this guy has something to do with it?" asked Neal. He ran his fingers through his hair. "I should remember him!"

"When did you bump into him?" asked Peter. "Was it right before the accident?"

Neal nodded, "I think so."

Peter smiled. "We interviewed everyone who was in the coffee shop right before the accident," said Peter. "If this guy was in there, right before, someone will have remembered him."

Peter's phone started to ring. He pulled it out of his pocket and glanced at the caller id. "It's Elizabeth."

"Take it," said Neal.

Peter nodded. "I'll be right outside. Call if you need anything." Peter walked out into the hallway.

"One of these days, you're going to have to trust me!" shouted Neal.

* * *

_This is too easy _thought Lucas. After he hung up the phone, he had broken into one of the locker rooms, stealing a pair of blue scrubs and an employee id. He set his duffle bag down on the sink and pulled out a black wig. He put it on, making sure it fit securely on his head. He then pulled out a pair of glasses and put them on.

_Perfect, _thought Lucas as he looked in the mirror. _Caffrey will never recognize me. _

Before Lucas dumped the bag, he pulled out a pair of latex gloves and put them on. _No sense on giving away my identity with a fingerprint. At least not yet, anyway. _He pulled out an unmarked needle, filled with liquid. He put the needle in his pocket.

Lucas made his way up the seventh floor, where he knew Caffrey was. Lucas was sure that Agent Burke would be with him. He had come up with a plan to somehow lure Burke out of the room, so he could be alone with Caffrey. When he got up the room, he saw that wouldn't be necessary. Agent Burke was standing just outside the doorway, a cell phone plastered to his ear.

Lucas smiled. This was too easy.

Lucas walked up the door and showed Agent Burke his employee badge. Burke looked up when he approached. When he saw the hospital badge, Burke smiled and waved him into the room. He then turned back to the conversation he was having on his cell phone.

Lucas walked into the room. Caffrey was lying on the bed, asleep. Lucas walked over to the bed. Pulling out the needle, he took off the cap and injected it into the IV. This way, there would be no puncture marks on Caffrey's body so no DNA on the needle. Plus, with the IV, it would enter Caffrey's system in about five minutes, giving Lucas time to get out before Burke came back in.

Lucas walked out of the room. Agent Burke was still engrossed in his phone conversation, never looking up as Lucas walked out of sight.

* * *

Peter walked out of Neal's room and answered his phone. "Hi, dear."

"_Peter," _came Elizabeth's out of breath voice. "_I'm sorry that I missed your call earlier. I was down at the Plaza planning the Green-Geller wedding. Remember how I told you that?"_

"Yes, you did dear," said Peter.

"_Anyway, they have the cutest little girl," _said Elizabeth. "_And I think it is going to be my best work yet! How is your day, dear?"_

"Um," said Peter. "That's kind of why I am calling."

"_What happened?" _asked Elizabeth.

"Well," said Peter. "Neal went out to get some coffee-"

"_Let me guess," _said Elizabeth. "_He hasn't come back yet and you think he tried to run. Honestly, Peter! When are you going to learn to trust him?" _

Peter sighed. "He didn't run. He actually got hit by a car."

"_WHAT!?" _ Elizabeth screamed in his ear. Peter pulled the phone away from his ear.

"_Why didn't you tell me that sooner?" _demanded Elizabeth.

"Well, you really didn't give me a chance," started Peter.

"_That's no excuse!" _shouted Elizabeth. "_You could have interrupted me!"_

"You hate it when I interrupt you dear," said Peter, trying to calm Elizabeth. Instead that just seemed to make her angrier. She continued to yell at him. She was still yelling at him over the phone when a male nurse in blue scrubs walked up to Neal's room. Peter looked up at him, with a questioning look in his eye. The nurse smiled and held up the employee badge. Peter smiled and waved him into the room.

Once the nurse was in the room, Peter turned his attention back to phone.

"Elizabeth!" shouted Peter. "Don't you want to know how Neal is doing?"

There was a pause on the other end of the line. _"Oh course I want to know how Neal is doing! How is he?" _

"He has a dislocated shoulder, broken wrist, two broken ribs and a concussion," said Peter. "But the doctor assures me he is going to be fine."

"_Thank God," _said Elizabeth. "_How about you? Are you okay?" _

Peter laughed. "I'm fine, honey. I wasn't the one hit by a car."

Peter could hear Elizabeth smile over the phone. "_And I'm grateful for that, Pete. But I can hear the worry in your voice. What's wrong?"_

"You know me too well," said Peter. He sighed. "We think that it was deliberate. Whoever was driving the car ran the red and speed through the intersection, just as Neal was crossing the street. The driver never even attempted to slow down. Someone tried to kill Neal."

Elizabeth gasped, _"Oh my! Are you sure?"_

"Yeah," said Peter.

"_What are you going to do?" _ asked Elizabeth.

"He's under protective custody," said Peter. He lowered his voice. "Neal won't admit it, but I think he's pretty rattled."

"_Well, who wouldn't be?" _

Peter was about to respond, when he heard a machine start beeping loudly. He turned and ran back into Neal's room.

The heart monitor was racing, beeping loudly, indicating that Neal was in serious trouble. Neal was thrashing around the bed, moaning loudly. It was almost like he was having a nightmare.

A bunch of nurses and doctors pushed past Peter as they rushed to Neal's side.

"What happened?" asked the doctor, looking up at Peter.

Peter looked at him, his jaw dropping. "I don't know," he whispered softly.

The doctor turned his attention back to Neal. "His heart's racing too fast! Get me a sedative! NOW!"

"_Peter, what's going on?" _shouted Elizabeth's voice through the phone. _"PETER!" _

Peter was interrupted when his phone made a little beeping noise. Peter looked down and saw that he had a new text message.

He put the phone back up to his ear. "Elizabeth, honey. Something is happening to Neal. I'll call you back."

"_I'm already on my way," _said Elizabeth as she hung up.

Peter ended the call and went to check the new message. When he opened the new text message and was shocked to see what it said:

_FBI's currently batting zero. That's twice now; I've attacked your little 'felon'. And twice, he's survived-you know what they say about the third time. Because next time, he's good as dead. _

* * *

A/N: Oh no! More cliffie karma! THE HORROR!!!!

I know, I know. I am horribly mean to Neal. But Neal Whumpage is so much fun!!

Please R&R! I love reviews!


	3. Chapter 3

The Crime of the Century

By RascalFlattsS

Warnings: Some moderate swearing in this chapter. Some minor spoilers for "Flip of a Coin"

A/N: Thank you all for the reviews! I appreciate it. And a special thanks to SwingDancer who has helped me hash out the details for this story.

Any errors are my own. Hopefully I got all the medical stuff right, but remember: business major.

* * *

Chapter 3: Friend. Enemy. Friend. Enemy….?

Mozzie looked down at his watch for the tenth time in the past fifteen minutes. He was supposed to meet Neal at June's. For a conman, Neal was very punctual. In the fifteen years Mozzie had known Neal, he had never been late. _Ever_.

_That FBI Agent must have him working overtime, _thought Mozzie. He was glad that Neal was out of prison and that he was turning his life around, but he wasn't thrilled with Neal's decision to work for the FBI. Neal is very good at what he goes, no matter which side of the game he is playing on. This can lead to jealously and fear. When Neal was a conman, the other conmen and white collar criminals often sought him out for his talent. They used to be in awe of Neal's talent. Now they were afraid of it.

And Mozzie knew very well what people did when they were afraid of something.

Neal had only been working as a consultant for a few months now and he had already landed in trouble one too many times for Mozzie's liking. First, Neal had gone and taken pictures of the warehouse where the Dutchman was operating, forcing the Dutchman to take him inside to be "dealt with". Just so that FBI could enter without a warrant and catch the Dutchman. Thank God that Neal had been able to lock himself into the bullet-proof glass office until the FBI showed up. And then there was the last case with the healing bible where Neal almost got shot. If the bible hadn't stopped the bullet, Neal would have been killed.

Plus there was the ankle bracelet. Neal had a lot of enemies-a lot of men and women he pissed off. Now that he is out, a lot of those people are looking for a score to settle. The GPS transmission was like a radio signal: anyone could tap into and listen, not just the FBI. All someone would have to do is hack in and trace the signal and they would instantly know Neal's location.

That stupid ankle bracelet was going to be the kid's death warrant.

The clinking of cups brought Mozzie of his thoughts. He looked up to see June standing next to him with a tray in her hands. She set it down on the table.

"He's probably just running late," said June, smiling, "working on a case with Peter. There's no need to worry."

"I'm not worried," said Mozzie quickly. "I just don't appreciate my time being wasted waiting. That's all."

Truth be told, Mozzie _was_ worried. Neal was never late. And the few times that something happened where Neal couldn't make a meeting, he always found a way to contact him and let him know. Neal had become a surrogate son to Mozzie. Truth be told, he cared about that stupid kid.

Not that he'd ever tell Neal that.

The sharp ringing of the telephone brought Mozzie out of his thoughts.

June smiled, "That's probably him right now," she said as she walked over to the phone. She picked it up and answered, "Hello? Why hello, Agent Burke! How are you?" She paused and her face fell. "What! Oh my, is Neal all right? Which hospital are you at? Yes, I know where St. Catherine's is. Thank you."

June hung up the phone, her hand shaking a little. She took a deep breath. "Mozzie, Neal's been in an accident---" She stopped short when she turned around so that she was facing the table. Mozzie was already gone.

* * *

Peter was about to punch his fist threw the wall. The doctor had kicked him out of the room while Neal was been treated for the unknown substance that had been injected into him by the killer. The only thing that Peter could do is insist that the two guards he had sent for be posted outside Neal's room.

_If only they had been here fifteen minutes earlier…_thought Peter. _I can't believe I was so stupid! _Immediately after Peter received the text message from the attempted-killer, Peter had alerted the doctor and other hospital staff. When Peter gave the description of the nurse who had entered Neal's room, he remembered the doctor's shocked expression.

"There's no male nurse with black hair and glasses," the doctor had said. "There is only one male nurse we have working this shift. Tim's hair is blonde."

Peter immediately called Jones and Lauren and had them comb the entire hospital for a man with black hair and glasses. Peter knew that it was futile effort even before he called. The attempted killer was probably already long gone-probably long gone before he sent Peter the text message. But still, it had to be done, just in case.

Peter was mentally kicking himself. _How could I not check the nurse!? I was standing right there! I watched the SOB go in…hell, I let him go into the room! And now, Neal could die because of my mistake. I promised him……_

"Peter?"

Peter looked up to see Elizabeth standing next to him. She sat down in the empty chair beside him. "How is he?"

"I don't know!" said Peter, frustrated. "The doctor has told me anything!"

Elizabeth nodded. She could understand her husband's frustration. She knew he'd never admit, but Peter really cared for Neal. Neal had become the annoying little brother Peter never had.

_He sure acts like a little brother, _thought Elizabeth, smiling as she recalled the childhood fights she had with her younger brother. Neal annoyed Peter to death-sometimes to the point to where Peter wanted to personally strangle him, but yet when it came down to it, Peter was fiercely protective of him.

She remembered the last case they had with the missing bible. Before the sting, Peter had been worried about trusting Neal. He was so afraid that Neal would take the bible and run. When he came home that night that thought had been the farthest thing on his mind.

"What was I thinking?" Peter had said. "What was I thinking putting Neal undercover-_alone-_with a suspected killer!? Neal could have been killed today! If that bible hadn't stopped it, it would have killed him!"

"Why are you smiling?"

Elizabeth snapped out of her thoughts to see Peter looking at her. "I'm sorry," she said. "I was just thinking of Neal and something he said."Peter raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

They sat in silence for the next several moments, both lost in their own thoughts.

"This isn't your fault," said Elizabeth softly.

"What?" asked Peter.

Elizabeth smiled, patting his arm. "I know you, Peter. You are blaming yourself with what happened to Neal just now." She smiled at her husband's confused look. "Peter, you told me that someone had deliberately tried to kill Neal when they hit them with the car. Then later that day, while Neal is injured in the hospital and escaping death once today, he ends up in trouble _again_? It doesn't take a genius to figure out what happened. The killer came back and tried to kill Neal again, didn't he?"

Peter was stunned for a moment. Then he reached over and kissed her. When they pulled apart, he said, "I knew there was a reason I married you."

"Just one?" asked Elizabeth.

"Well no," admitted Peter. He pulled out his cell phone and opened the text message. He showed it to Elizabeth.

"I showed the doctor this text message," said Peter. "I don't think whatever he did was lethal from the message."

"You're assuming that is the second try," said Elizabeth.

Peter nodded. "I think Neal would have mentioned if someone had tried to kill him." He paused. "You do think Neal would have told me if someone was trying to kill him, right?"

Elizabeth laughed. "I think that not even Neal would hide _that_ from you."

Peter shook his head. He stood up and started to pace. "I should have never left him alone-"

Elizabeth stood up and wrapped her arms around him.

Peter grabbed a hold of Elizabeth's hands. "Thanks," he whispered softly.

Elizabeth nodded. "Have a little faith in Neal, Pete. He's a lot stronger than you give him credit for."

* * *

Mozzie was racing through the hospital, looking for Neal's room. He knew in his gut something was wrong. He knew something was wrong the minute Neal didn't show up to their meeting. That horrible feeling was only confirmed when June picked up the phone and he heard the panic and fear in her voice. He knew it was about Neal. The moment he heard St. Catherine's Hospital, he was out the door.

_Oh God, Neal, what have you done? _Mozzie thought as he ran up the counter. _God help me, you'd better be okay…_

Mozzie ran to the counter. "Neal Caffrey's room?" he blurted out.

The nurse at the desk looked up at him puzzled. "I'm sorry?"

"Neal Caffrey!" shouted Mozzie. "I need his room number!"

"I'm sorry sir," said the nurse. "I can't give out that information."

Mozzie stepped back puzzled. "What do you mean, 'you can't give me that information?' I am his friend, damn it! I am the closet thing that kid has to family! So give me his room number!"

"I'm sorry sir, but visiting hours are over," the nurse explained calmly.

Mozzie took a deep breath. "Fine." He turned and walked down the hall into ICU.

"Where are you going?" shouted the nurse.

"To find my friend," shouted Mozzie over his shoulder. He didn't slow down or stop. The nurse continued to shout at him.

"Sir! You can't go back there!" shouted the nurse as she followed him down the hall.

"I'm going to find my friend," shouted Mozzie. "And I'm not going to stop. So I guess you'll have to shoot me."

"That's my job."

Mozzie looked up and turned to see Agent Peter Burke standing at the end of the hall.

"Agent Burke, I tried to stop him-" started the nurse.

"It's all right," said Peter, waving his hand. He walked towards Mozzie. "Why don't we go back to the waiting room and talk?"

"I want to see Neal first," said Mozzie. He turned to walk back down the hall.

"You won't get past the guards at the door," said Peter.

Mozzie whipped around. "You've got a lot of nerve! Neal's hurt and in the hospital and you still don't trust him to run! You've already got that damn bracelet on his ankle, what more do you need?"

"The guards are there for Neal's protection," said Peter.

Mozzie stopped and turned around. His jaw dropped. He knew there was only one reason that the FBI would put Neal under protection. "Are you telling me that someone is threatening Neal?"

Peter nodded. "More than threatened. There have been two attempts on his life, just in the past four hours."

"What?" asked Mozzie. "What happened?"

"Neal was hit by a car," said Peter sadly.

"Is he okay?" asked Mozzie, his voice laced with fear.

Peter nodded. "He's fine. He has a concussion, a broken wrist, a dislocated shoulder and two broken ribs," said Peter.

Mozzie sighed. "Thank God." He turned and started walking down the hall.

"Where are you going?" Peter asked walking after him.

"To go see Neal," said Mozzie. "I know you said Neal's okay but I won't believe it till I see him myself."

"You can't-" started Peter but Mozzie cut him off.

"Listen here, Fed," snapped Mozzie angrily. "I don't care! I don't care about the guards at the door or your stupid rules or anything! I want to see Neal! I've known that kid for ten years now! He's like a son to me! I want to see Neal and I don't care what you do! Shot me if you have to but I am going to go see Neal!"

Mozzie turned to go, but Peter grabbed his shoulder, stopping him.

"You can't go see Neal because the doctor is in there with him, treating him," said Peter softly.

Mozzie felt his heart drop. He could tell by Peter's voice that there was some bad news that he hadn't told him yet. "What are you talking about? You said Neal was fine."

Peter sighed. "Whoever tried to run him over snuck into his room and interjected him with something," he said. "The doctor is in there right now treating him for whatever the SOB gave him."

"Is he okay?" asked Mozzie, his voice so soft Peter almost didn't hear it.

"I don't know," said Peter. "The doctor hasn't told me anything." He took a deep breath. "I need to know what you know about Neal and his past. I need to know if he has any enemies."

"Oh course he does!" snapped Mozzie. "Everyone and anyone who has ever worked in this business had to at some point to screw someone else over. That tends to leave people not feeling all warm and fuzzy about Neal."

"Anyone who acted on that?" asked Peter.

"Neal never had a problem till he started working for you," said Mozzie sharply.

Peter's eyes narrowed. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"What do you think?" asked Mozzie sarcastically. "No one was ever trying to shot him or hit him with a car until you showed up!"

"I've given Neal a second chance!" shouted Peter.

"As what? A snitch?" shouted Mozzie. "You put Neal at the bottom of the food chain! You put him on FBI payroll and everyone knows it! You signed his death warrant!"

"I can protect him!" shouted Peter.

"Like you did today?" yelled Mozzie. "Neal was hurt on your watch!"

"PETER!"

Both men stopped yelling and turned. Elizabeth was running towards them.

"What are you two doing?" asked Elizabeth. "This is a hospital! Having a fighting match isn't going to help Neal nor is it going to catch the SOB who is trying to kill him." Elizabeth took a deep breath. "I know that you are both worried about Neal, but trying to kill each other isn't going to help anyone. So please stop yelling!"

"Yes El," said Peter. He sighed. He turned to Mozzie. "I need your help to catch this guy."

"You don't have to ask," said Mozzie. "Just give me five minutes alone with the guy when you catch him."

Peter smiled, "That would be unethical."

Mozzie shrugged. "Kind of like when I helped you catch Aimes by hitting him with the limo, huh?"

"What?" asked Elizabeth, with an eyebrow raised.

"Hey, from what I remember you were never there," said Peter.

"Agent Burke?"

Peter, Elizabeth and Mozzie turned to see Neal's doctor walking towards them.

"How is he?" asked Peter, quickly.

"He's stable," said the doctor.

"Oh thank God," said Elizabeth, hugging Peter. Peter hugged her back.

"Did you determine what was given to Neal?" asked Peter.

The doctor nodded, "Penicillin."

"Oh my God," breathed Mozzie, horrified.

"What?" asked Elizabeth? "What's so bad at penicillin?"

"Neal is deathly allergic to penicillin," said Mozzie.

"What?" asked Peter. "That wasn't in his records!"

"No it wouldn't be," said Mozzie softly.

"Is Neal going to be okay?" asked Elizabeth.

The doctor nodded. "The penicillin allergy caused Mr. Caffrey to go into **anaphylactic shock."**

"**Oh my God," breathed Elizabeth.**

**The doctor waved his hand. "Don't worry. We gave him a shot of **epinephrine and he should be fine. We'll keep him overnight to make sure that there are not any complications."

"Can we see him?" asked Mozzie.

The doctor nodded. "Yes of course. We are getting him settled into a new room; we'll come and get you in a few minutes. Have the nurse page me if you have any questions."

"Thank you, doctor," said Elizabeth.

"Of course," said the doctor. He walked off down the hall.

"Thank God Neal is going to be okay!" said Elizabeth.

"Yeah," said Peter, slowly. Elizabeth looked up to see her husband lost in thought.

"What are you thinking?" asked Elizabeth.

"I am thinking," said Peter slowly. "How the killer knew Neal was allergic to penicillin if it wasn't listed in any of Neal's medical records." He looked at Mozzie. "Who else knows about Neal's allergy?"

"As far as I know, only one other person-other than me-knows about Neal's allergy," said Mozzie, slowly.

"Who?" asked Peter, knowing that he already knew the answer.

"Kate."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------A/N: Insert evil laugh here.

Aren't I just evil?! (The answer is 'yes' by the way). So, is Kate a good guy or a bad guy? Or does someone else know about Neal's allergy? Keep reading to find out.

I will try to update again soon. Unfortunately I have a lot of homework to do over Thanksgiving break so, we'll see…..

Please R&R! I love them all!

.


	4. Chapter 4

The Crime of the Century

By RascalFlattsS

Disclaimer: Do not own White Collar.

A/N: YES FREEDOM! Done with finals; done with projects and now done with school for an entire month!! HOORAY! I think we all know what this means-time for Fanfiction! Sweetness!

In this chapter, there's some more Neal/Peter big brother/friend fluffy and some Elizabeth/Neal friendship. No slash.

Warnings: Some swearing in this chapter. Also some minor spoilers to "All In" and "Free Fall"

* * *

Chapter 4: Another REALLY Bad Day-It Must Still Be Monday

"Kate?" whispered Elizabeth. She looked from Peter to Mozzie as if she had never heard that name before. "You really think Kate would try to kill Neal?"

"I wouldn't put it past her," said Peter. Elizabeth punched him in the arm. "Ow!"

"Don't you have a romantic bone in your body?" asked Elizabeth sharply, "She loves him; she wouldn't try to kill him!"

Mozzie sighed, "No one else knows Neal's allergic to penicillin. And I certainly didn't try to kill him. That only leaves one person."

"I just don't believe it," asked Elizabeth. "What does Kate have to gain by killing Neal?"

Peter shook his head, "I don't know." He turned to Mozzie. "What about all the other stuff Neal stole?" Mozzie cleared his throat. "Sorry, 'alleged stole'" Peter added.

Mozzie shook his head, "No. That doesn't make any sense. Killing Neal doesn't accomplish anything unless…" Mozzie's voice trailed off.

"What?" asked Peter sharply.

"It might just be nothing," said Mozzie slowly.

"Seeing as how someone is putting a lot of effort into trying to kill Neal," said Peter, "I'm going to say that is more than nothing."

"There's a rumor going around," said Mozzie, slowly, "that something big is going down in New York."

"Like what?" asked Peter.

"Hell if I know," said Mozzie. "All I know is that it's supposed to be 'the crime of the century', whatever that means."

"And what does that have to do with Neal?" asked Elizabeth.

"If the rumor is true," said Mozzie, "this is going to be the biggest white collar crime that we've ever seen. And there's only one person who could stop it."

"Neal," breathed Peter softly.

* * *

"Lucas," said the boss. "How did it go?"

"Excellent," said Lucas. "Poor Caffrey is suffering from **anaphylactic shock."**

"**Really?" asked the boss. "What's poor Caffrey allergic to?"**

"**Penicillin," said Lucas. He smiled. **

"**Remind me to thank Kate later," said the boss. "I'm assuming that they know about Kate by now."**

"**Most likely," said Lucas. "But it's not like Agent Burke can stop us now."**

"**No, but Caffrey still might," said the boss. "I think it's time we end Caffrey's miserable life once and for all." **

"**I couldn't agree more," said Lucas. "But if I may sir, I have a different idea for how to get rid of Caffrey. We kidnap Caffrey. That get's him out of the way while we finish up our little business exchange and its keep Agent Burke busy looking for his little pet convict. Then after we're done, we dump Caffrey's dead body in the Hudson."**

"**Lucas, I like the way you think."**

* * *

Meanwhile, as the two men talked, a young woman with dark brown hair and sharp blue eyes was standing in the shadows, listening to everything that was said. When she heard what the men where planning, she gasped and her hand flew to her mouth. Tears began to form in her eyes.

"Oh God," Kate whispered. "Neal." Then she turned and ran.

* * *

"You can go in and see him now," said the doctor.

"Thank you, doctor," said Elizabeth. She turned to Mozzie and Peter. "I am going to go grab a cup of coffee. Do either of you want anything?"

"A cup of black coffee would be great," said Peter. He kissed Elizabeth on the cheek. "You're a lifesaver, you know that, right?"

Elizabeth smiled. She turned to Mozzie, "Would you like anything?"

"I think I'll come get it myself," said Mozzie. He turned to Peter. "Tell Neal I'll be back in ten."

Peter nodded and walked into Neal's room as Mozzie and Elizabeth started walking down the hall.

"You could have gone in there, ya know," said Elizabeth. "My husband doesn't bite. And if he did, I made sure he got his rabies shot."

Mozzie smiled. "I know. Last time Peter and I hung out together, Neal wasn't too thrilled. I'd hate to cause the kid more stress. Besides there are things he'll tell me that he won't tell Peter. And, I can't talk about conspiracy theories with a Fed in the room."

"There aren't any conspiracy theories," said Elizabeth.

"You know, that's exactly someone who is involved in a conspiracy theory would say," said Mozzie.

* * *

When Peter walked into Neal's room, he thought Neal was asleep. However Neal opened his eyes as Peter sat down in the chair by the bed.

"Hey," whispered Neal, his voice barely above a whisper.

"God, Neal, you look like crap," said Peter.

"Well, I feel like crap," said Neal. He leaned back against the pillows. "Doctor told me what happened; **anaphylactic shock** from penicillin."

"Why did you tell me that you were allergic to penicillin?" asked Peter.

"Don't like anyone to know," said Neal softly. "Can't have a weakness-people will use it against you."

"You'd think I'd used your life-threatening allergy against you?" asked Peter, his voice laced with hurt. "Damn it, Neal! You have to trust me!"

"I don't tell anyone about it Peter," said Neal.

"Mozzie knew about it," said Peter.

Neal smiled. "Nine years ago, Mozzie and I were in a car when some idiot ran a red light. He slammed right into the car. I ended up with a broken leg and a concussion. I was unconscious when they pulled me out, Mozzie wasn't. The ER gave me a shot of penicillin to prevent infection from the cut on my leg and I had a full fledge **anaphylactic shock. Moz was there and he saw everything. I don't think I've ever seen him so freaked out."**

"**I can see why," said Peter, softly. **

**Neal sighed, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you Peter."**

"**Who else knows?" asked Peter. "About your penicillin allergy?"**

"No one," said Neal. "Just Moz and-" Neal stopped abruptly. Peter knew why.

"Kate knows, doesn't she?" asked Peter. Neal didn't answer but instead chose to stare at the ceiling. "She did, doesn't she? You told her."

"So what if I did?" asked Neal sharply. "What the hell does Kate have to do with anything?"

"Well seeing as how there are only three people in the world who know about your allergy," said Peter, "and I highly doubt that you tried to kill yourself or that your friend Moz tried to kill you, so that only leaves one person."

"No," said Neal shaking his head in disbelief. "No, Kate wouldn't do this. She wouldn't. She _couldn't. _You're wrong, Peter. You're wrong. You have to be wrong…."

Peter grabbed Neal's shoulders. "Neal, Kate is trouble. She is trying to kill you."

"No!" said Neal. He tried to pull himself out of Peter's grasped but he failed.

"Neal, no one knows about your penicillin allergy," said Peter firmly. He needed to drill this point in to Neal's thick skull. Neal needed to understand that Kate was trouble. "Kate's been gone for months without a trace. She dumped you, pal! She. Dumped. You."

"No," breathed Neal softly.

"She didn't even bother to tell you to your face that it is over," said Peter. "Nor did she write you a note or send you a text or e-mail or hell she didn't break up with you by change her relationship status on Facebook! She dumped you using a bottle! An empty bottle! And then she disappears without a trace!"

"I told you," said Neal, his voice rising. "She had a reason. The man with the ring-"

"Right, the man with the ring has her," mocked Peter. "Did it ever occur to you that Kate is working with the man with the ring? Or that she just hired someone to wear a ring and she's the mastermind behind it all!"

"Kate wouldn't do that," said Neal, his face paling.

"I've got news for you pal," said Peter. "She would. Mozzie says that there is "a crime of the century" going down and Kate is nowhere to be found. Someone has a hit out on you and they are using personal information-which only Kate knows by the way-and you still believe that it's not Kate! When are you going to admit that she's trouble?! When are you going face facts? Your girlfriend is trying to kill you!"

"NO!" screamed Neal. "Kate _loves _me! She wouldn't do this!"

"Wake up Neal!" shouted Peter. "She dumped you! She broke your heart and left you to rot in jail! Now she's trying to kill you!" Peter waved his arms around the open air. "Look around, Neal! You almost died twice in one day and Kate's nowhere to be found! If she loves you as much as you claim, why isn't she here Neal? I'll tell you why! Kate is the one trying to kill you, you idiot-"

"Peter!"

Both men turned and looked. Elizabeth was standing in the doorway, her face set in a frown. "Can I talk to you outside?"

Peter sighed. He set down a large vanilla folder on Neal's leg. "When you finally come to your senses, look through this file and see if you can out how your girlfriend is going to kill you before she actually succeeds at it."

"Kate is not trying to kill me!" shouted Neal.

"That's enough!" shouted Elizabeth, giving both of them a death glare. "You-"she said pointing to Neal-"you should be resting. And you-"she pointed to Peter. "Outside. _**NOW!**_"

Peter sighed and stepped outside into the hallway. Elizabeth followed him, closing Neal's door behind her.

"What the hell are you doing?" asked Elizabeth.

Peter stepped back at the raw anger in her voice. "I don't know? My job? I'm trying to keep that idiot alive, El."

"And how is yelling at him going to help?" asked Elizabeth.

"He's almost died today, El," said Peter. "_Twice!" _

"I am aware of that, Peter," said Elizabeth softly. "But yelling at him isn't going to help anyone."

"He just can't understand," said Peter. "Kate is trying to kill him and he's still defending her! "

"He loves her," said Elizabeth.

"She broke his heart and left him high and dry," said Peter. "She's the only one who knows about Neal's allergy. She hasn't been seen in months and now the crime of the century is supposed to go down and she's nowhere to been found, meanwhile Neal's got a target on his back!"

"Honey, there is a reason the heart is not connected to the brain," said Elizabeth softly. "Love isn't logical."

Peter sighed and rubbed his hand over his face.

"You don't know that it's her," whispered Elizabeth.

"Who else could it be?" asked Peter. "No one else knows about Neal's penicillin allergy? Neal said it himself; no one else knows."

"Neal has a concussion," said Elizabeth, "his word can't be taken as gospel right now."

"Is there a point?" asked Peter.

"It is possible that someone found out about Neal's allergy in the past ten years," said Elizabeth. She raised an eyebrow. "Why do you want Kate to be the bad guy?"

"What are you talking about?" asked Peter.

"You seem very intent on proving Kate is behind this," said Elizabeth. "It's almost like you want Kate to be guilty."

"That girl is trouble," said Peter sharply. "Neal has so much potential! He can do great things, but whenever Kate comes along, he gets blindsided. I've invested too much time and energy into him to watch him all through it away."

Elizabeth sighed. "I know, Peter, I know. But sweetheart, don't you think that choice should be up to Neal?"

Peter looked at Elizabeth. Elizabeth embraced him in a hug. "Honey, you can't fool me. You're worried about Neal and you want what's best for him. But you can't force your life onto him-he has to make his own decisions. And Neal will get over Kate-at his own pace. Yelling at him after he's been seriously injured isn't going to help anyone."

Peter nodded. He gave his wife a quick kiss on the lips and then walked down the hall.

"Where are you going?" asked Elizabeth.

"Back to the office," Peter shouted over his shoulder. "I'm going to catch that bitch before she tries to she makes good on her threat to murder my partner."

* * *

Neal sighed. He leaned back against the pillows, putting one arm over his eyes. He took a deep breath, trying to fight back the tears.

"Neal?"

Neal lowered his arm and saw Elizabeth standing by the doorway.

"Are you alright?" asked Elizabeth.

"Um, yeah," said Neal. "I'm fine."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes and walked over to the bed. "You have been spending too much time with my husband. I knew you were an art theft-"

"Alleged art theft," injected Neal.

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Alleged art theft," she correct, "but I didn't take you for a liar, Mr. Caffrey." She smiled. "Clearly, you're not _fine. _So why don't you tell me what's bothering you?"

Neal took a deep breath. "I'm scared," he whispered so softly that Elizabeth almost missed it. "Someone is trying to kill me. They've already tried to kill me twice now and the next time, they might not miss."

"Oh Neal," said Elizabeth. She patted Neal's hand. "Don't worry-Peter is working on finding whoever did this."

"Peter can't protect t me," said Neal, looking up at the ceiling. "Whoever this is wants me dead and they are going to make sure that I'm dead. The guy was gutsy enough to come in here-with Peter standing right outside- and tried to kill me _again_. Nothing is going to stop this guy until I'm dead."

"Neal, look at me," said Elizabeth. Neal looked up and made eye contact with Elizabeth. "Now you listen to me, Neal Caffrey and you listen good. I know my husband and he is not going to rest until he finds the SOB who hurt you and has him locked up behind bars. Peter is not going to let this guy get to you, I promise you that Neal. Peter is not going to let anything bad happen to you."

Neal smiled, "Thanks, Lizzie."

Elizabeth punched him lightly in the arm. "Don't call me, 'Lizzie'."

"Sorry," said Neal, grinning. He then sighed. "Peter thinks Kate is behind all this."

"Yes, I know," said Elizabeth. "What do you think?"

"I don't know what to think!" said Neal. "My brain understands Peter's argument. Kate is the only other person other than Moz who knows about my allergy. She did call me a few weeks ago and she wanted to know where some items that I might have stolen might have been hidden. And she certainly has the ability to pull off a 'crime of the century'. But yet my heart refuses to expect it that Kate could do such a horrible thing!"

There was a moment of silence. "Just promise me one thing," said Elizabeth.

"What?"

"Just don't jump to conclusions," said Elizabeth. "You don't know if Kate's even involved. She may surprise you."

Neal nodded. "Why can't your husband be more like you?"

Elizabeth laughed. "Peter only wants what's best for you, you know that right?"

Neal nodded again. "I know, Lizzie. I know."

* * *

A young woman stood at the corner. She lifted the receiver of the phone and dialed a number. While she waited for the call to connect, she looked up at the large FBI building.

"Federal Bureau of Investigation. How may I direct your call?"

"I need to speak to an agent in the white collar unit," said Kate. "Agent Peter Burke. Tell him it's a matter of life and death."

* * *

Neal sighed. It was a little after one o'clock in the morning. Elizabeth had left a little after ten o'clock when visiting hours ended. Mozzie had stopped by for an hour. After he made sure that Neal was really okay, he promised Neal that he was going to catch the SOB and after make him sorry he ever messed with Neal Caffrey.

Neal smiled. Moz was a good friend.

Neal had tried to sleep but his mind kept tossing and turning, not allowing him to sleep. Finally at midnight, he gave up. He wheeled his IV stand over to the window and sat down by the window looking out over the New York City skyline. He sighed.

Neal pulled out the folder that Peter had left and started leafing through it. He read for an hour and a half when he came across a copy of the text message the killer had sent Peter.

"_FBI's currently batting zero. That's twice now; I've attacked your little 'felon'. And twice, he's survived-you know what they say about the third time. Because next time, he's good as dead."_

Neal reread the message several times. Something just didn't seem right about the message. The more Neal thought about it, there was something wrong with the second attack. It was a gutsy risk attacking Neal in a hospital with Peter right outside. It was risky, definitely took guts. But it was an unnecessary risk. Even though Neal was deathly allergic to penicillin, already being at the hospital, Neal was able to get immediate treatment that saved his life. Someone who was a smart as this guy was must have known that…

Unless he never meant for the**anaphylactic shock to kill Neal. This means that the penicillin shot wasn't the second attempt on his life. But then why would the killer send the text message to Peter….**

**Suddenly the light bulb went off in Neal's head. Everything that had happened today-the guy in the coffee shop, the hit and run, the attack in the hospital, deathly penicillin allergy, the text message, the rumor Mozzie had told him-suddenly it all made sense. **

"**Oh my God!" said Neal. He jumped up off the window seat. His head spun. Neal waited for the room to stop spinning, before running back over to bedside table, dragging the IV stand behind him. He picked up his cell phone, scrolled down his call list until he found Peter's name. He hit the call button.**

**He didn't even wait for Peter to say hello before he started talking. "It's me. I know who it is. I know who's trying to kill me."**

* * *

Lucas was outside of Caffrey's room. He watched for several hours as Caffrey read through the case file. Finally, he saw the look of recognition on Caffrey's face.

Lucas smiled. "About time you figured it out."

He turned to the man next to him. "Let's go."

* * *

Peter slammed his fist down on the desk in frustration. He had spent the last several hours investigating every single lead. But still he had nothing. He was no closer to finding out who was trying to kill Neal then he was at ten o' clock yesterday morning.

He had to find this guy. He had to. There was no other alternative. And when Peter did find the SOB who had dared to hurt his partner, he was going make him sorry he was ever born.

Peter was brought out of his trance by the sound of his cell phone ringing. He sighed. _It's probably El trying to get me to come home._

Just as he was about to pick up his cell phone and answer it, the telecom buzzed. "Agent Burke, you have a call on line one."

Peter sighed. He looked down at the caller ID: Neal. He pushed the button on the intercom. "Tell whoever it to wait five seconds. Actually better yet, take a message and call them in the morning."

He picked up the phone. "Burke."

"_It's me_," said Neal's voice, his breath coming out in a gasp. It sounded like he had been running. "_**I know who it is. I know who's trying to kill me**_**."**

"**What?!" shouted Peter. He jumped up from his desk chair. "How?"**

"_**It's in the text message you got," **_**said Neal. "**_**It said this was the second time they tried to kill me." **_

"**Neal, tell me something I don't already know," said Peter as he pulled his gun out of the desk drawer.**

"_**The whole second attack didn't make sense," **_**said Neal. **_**"This guy is suppose to be good, right? So why would he risk making an attack that he knows will fail?"**_

"**What are you talking about?" asked Peter. He holstered his gun and was now putting on his coat. "The guy injected penicillin into your IV which you happen to be allergic to. How is that not an attempt on your life?"**

"_**Except he gave it to me while I was in a hospital," **_**said Neal. **_**"Think about it Peter. I was already in the hospital attached to all sorts of monitors. The moment I get the penicillin into my bloodstream all the monitors start beeping and the doctors are aware what's going on and are able to administer treatment immediately." **_

"**Okay, so this guy is an idiot," said Peter. He walked out of his office while still holding the phone to his ear. **

"_**No, Peter! This guy is brilliant!" **_**said Neal. **_**"He made a fake attempt to kill me!"**_

"**A fake attempt to kill you?" repeated Peter as he hit the down button for the elevator. "So what, the penicillin was never meant to kill you?"**

"_**Exactly!" **_

"**Then why do it?" **

"_**Because," **_**said Neal, **_**"He wanted us to believe that he was making a second attack to try and throw us off the trail of who's really behind it. The guy we're looking for tried to kill me eight years ago. And he failed! The hit and run was the second attack!" **_

"**Okay," said Peter slowly as he got into the elevator. "So who tried to kill you eight years ago?"**

"_**His name is-" **_**Neal started. There was a pause over the phone. **

"**Neal?" asked Peter. He could feel the fear creeping up in his chest. "Are you still there?"**

"_**What the hell are you doing?" **_**came Neal's shouts over the phone. **_**"No! NO!" **_

"**Neal!" shouted Peter. He got out the elevator and bolted for his car "Neal! NEAL!" **

* * *

**A/N: Dun, dun, dun! Cliffie karma strikes again!!!!**

**Please review! I love all reviews! **


	5. Chapter 5

**The Crime of the Century **

**By RascalFlattsS**

**A/N: Thank you all so much for your reviews! And your patience. I'm sorry that I haven't been able to update in a while-I've been busy with school, work, homework, job hunting and then interviewing for a full time job after I graduate. But I'm back!! Missed me? **

**Disclaimer: Still a poor college student. Own nothing. Including White Collar.**

**Warning: At this point in the story, I'm just going to say assume spoilers to pretty much every episode in this first season so far. **

**Also some swearing and Neal Whumpage-the new official sport on Fanfiction!**

* * *

**Chapter 5: This Is Some Serious Trouble We Are Now In**

**Kate waited impatiently, tapping her foot, waiting for the operator to transfer her over to Peter. **

"**C'mon," Kate whispered impatiently. "How long does it take to answer a phone? Pick up the stupid phone, Peter!"**

"**Ma'am?" the operator's voice came back on. "Agent Burke is not in the office right now. Can I take a message?"**

**Kate swore softly and slammed the phone down on the receiver. Now what? She couldn't just stroll into the FBI building. She had no other way of reaching Peter and she didn't even know where to begin to find Mozzie. That meant there was only one person left to trust. **

* * *

"**Neal!" Peter continued to scream to the phone. "Neal, answer me! Damn it Neal! If you don't answer me right now, I am going to throw your ass back in jail! Neal!" **

**Nothing but silence entered through the phone. Peter stared at the phone and saw that it was still connected. Peter cursed. He jumped in his car and drove straight to the hospital.**

**Peter knew that he should disconnect the call and call the guards at the hospital or Jones and Cruz for back up. Every logical part of his brain was telling him to disconnect the call but yet for some reason he found himself unable to hang up the phone. **

"**Neal?! Can you hear me Neal? NEAL!" Peter shouted into his phone, which was still locked in a death grip in his hand. He knew that in all likelihood that Neal couldn't hear him and Peter was just wasting his breath, but yet, despite all the logic, he couldn't bring himself to stop. Just in case, there was the tiniest bit of hope that Neal was still there. **

"**C'mon Neal," Peter whispered silently. "Please answer me. **_**Please." **_

**Peter waited, **_**praying **_**to hear Neal's voice on the phone. Instead all he was met with was the worst sound he had ever heard: silence. Complete and utter silence. **

"**Damn it!" Peter cursed softly. He didn't know when it happened, but somewhere along the way, Neal Caffrey had wormed his way into Peter's life. He was so frustrating and annoying at times; he drove Peter up the wall. Neal could be reckless and compulsive; he didn't think about the consequences. How many times had that put Neal in danger? How many times had that almost cost them both?**

**But yet at the same time, Neal was endearing. He was deathly loyal to his friends. Especially Kate. Even through Peter didn't understand the loyalty to Kate, he respected it. Neal was passionate about everything he did. He was caring-Peter didn't think that he had ever meet a more caring criminal then Neal. Peter had to give him credit-Neal had never used violence to get what he wanted nor did he allow others to use violence to as a means to an end. And Neal was so intelligent. Peter had never meet anyone as intelligent as Neal Caffrey. **

**Somewhere along the way, Neal Caffrey became more than just a colleague and more than just a friend. **

**Elizabeth liked him. The dog liked him. **

**Peter's mind flashed back to something Elizabeth had said a while ago, after their first case. Peter had been talking about Neal and the dangerous stunt he had pulled when Elizabeth had broke off laughing.**

**Peter looked up at her, confused. "What's so funny?" he asked puzzled.**

**Elizabeth smiled. "If I didn't know any better, I would say that Neal was your little brother." She smiled even further when she saw the confused look on Peter's face. "You should hear the way you talk about him, Peter. He annoys you to wits ends. But yet you have so much respect for him and his abilities. You have the same tone of voice when you talk about Neal that I use when I talk about my brother."**

**At the time, Peter had just shaken his head and dismissed it. But as time wore on, Peter found that Neal reminded him more and more of an annoying, know-it-all little brother.**

**Somewhere along the way, Neal Caffrey became a member of the Burke family. Somewhere along the way, Neal Caffrey became like the little brother Peter never had.**

"**Hang on little brother," whispered Peter softly. "I'm coming." **

* * *

**The first thing that Neal noticed was a throbbing pain in his head. Neal groaned. He tried to bring his hands up to his head, only to find that they were tied behind his back.**

"**What the…" Neal groaned. He opened his eyes to discover that he was tied to a chair. Neal lifted his head and groaned.**

"**Okay, not a smart thing to do when you have a concussion," said Neal. He slowly lifted his head up and looked around. He was alone in a dark room. **

"**Oh man," sighed Neal. "Peter is going to kill me." **

_**I was talking to Peter, **_**thought Neal slowly, **_**about the case. What was it again? **_

"**Must have hit my head," mumbled Neal slowly. "I have another concussion." **_**Wait-**__another__** concussion? When was the first? **_

_**C'mon Neal, **_**Neal thought. **_**Think.**_** His mind was foggy as Neal tried to focus on the day's events. **_**The coffee shop. The creepy coffee shop guy. The car. Pain everywhere….**_

_**That's right. I was hit by a car. And then I was in the hospital. Peter was there. Then there was more pain-I couldn't breathe…it felt like I was having an allergy attack…. Wait! It was an allergy attack! Someone gave me penicillin. Peter was yelling at me….said Kate tried to kill me…but Kate wouldn't do that, would she? Would she?**_

**All the memories came back, assaulting him, giving him a major headache. He groaned. He took a few deep breathes. **

"**Okay," Neal said slowly, taking some deep breathes. "Let's focus. Something happened. Someone tried to kill me….I think. And I think that I may have also possibly been kidnapped, which is bad, I think. Good news is that Peter will be here busting through that door in three, two, one!" **

**Neal looked at the door, waiting for the door to bust open and the FBI White Collar division to come busting in. The door remained solid and didn't budge. **

**Neal watched the door for several minutes, waiting for it to bust open. The door didn't move. **

**Neal cursed. "C'mon Peter! Where are you? The tracker should have---" Neal looked down at his foot and gasped. **

**The tracker was gone. **

"**Well," said Neal softly. "That explains why Peter isn't here." **

_**Peter…There was something I was supposed to tell Peter, **_**thought Neal slowly. His mind was foggy. He felt himself drifting off towards unconsciousness. Neal fought it away. There was a nagging sensation in the back of his mind that there was something that he needed to tell Peter. **

_**Peter…the Fed…Federal Government….Big brother…**_

**Neal's head snapped up. His blue eyes widen in shock as recognition set in. **

"**Oh crap," said Neal. He watched as the door swung open slowly and the light blinded him. A familiar figure stood in the stood in the doorway.**

_**Crap. Peter, you'd be on your way, **_**thought Neal. **_**Because this time, I'm in **__serious__** trouble. **_

* * *

_**Neal, when I find you, you ARE in serious trouble, **_**thought Peter, **_**if you aren't already in serious trouble. **_**Peter parked the car. Parked is too strong of word, seeing as Peter was out of the car before it was even fully stopped. He was running down the hall, holding his gun in his hand. As he ran past, he startled nurses and hospital staff. Peter didn't care. All he cared about was getting to Neal. **

_**Neal, please be okay. Please, please be okay….**_

**Peter turned the corner, almost knocking over Neal's doctor. Peter didn't even bother to apologize. He continued to run down the hall to Neal's room.**

_**Please be there. Please, God let him be there. Let him be okay….**_

**Peter turned the corner, gun raised into Neal's room. His heart dropped like a stone.**

**The two guards were both lying on the floor unconscious. And Neal was nowhere in sight. **

_**NO! **_

**Neal's doctor came rushing in. He looked at the two unconscious FBI agents lying on the ground, to the empty bed and then back to Peter.**

"**What the hell happened?" asked the doctor. **

**Peter looked up at the doctor. "They took my brother," he whispered softly.**

**The doctor looked at him confused. "What?"**

"**Whoever tried to kill Neal," said Peter slowly, "came back and kidnapped him." He turned to the doctor. "Can you check on them?" He said, pointing the fallen agents. "Make sure they are okay."**

**The doctor nodded and then went to check on the two men. **

**Peter pulled out his cell phone. He sighed softly when he saw that he was still connected to Neal's phone. He disconnected the phone. He dialed in Jones' number.**

"_**Jones**_**," came Jones' voice. He sounded sleepy. Peter looked at his clock and realized it was one-thirty in the morning. **

"**Jones, its Peter," said Peter. "Whoever tried to kill Neal came back."**

"_**What**_**?" said Jones, sounding much more alert. **_**"Is Caffrey alright? What about the Cheng and Westman? Are they all right?" **_

"**Cheng and Westman are unconsciousness; the doctor is checking them over." Peter sighed and rubbed his hand over his face. "They took Neal. I need you and Cruz here."**

"_**I'll be there in twenty," **_**said Jones. **

"**Thanks," Peter said. He hung up. He turned to the doctor. "How are they?"**

"**They were given a mild sedative," said the doctor. "They'll be out for a while, but once the drug wears off, they'll be fine." **

**Peter nodded. He scrolled down his inbox and found the mysterious text message. His team had already traced the message and found it was a prepaid cell phone; no name attached to it. The phone had been turned off and most likely dumped. **

**He hit the call button. He waited as the call connected. The automatic voicemail picked up. "You have reached 555-387-1873. Please leave a message after the beep." **

"**I don't know who you are," said Peter. He didn't even bother to identify himself. "And personally, I still don't care. But you went after my partner, my friend, **_**my brother. **_**So I promise you if you hurt even a SINGLE hair on his head, I will hunt you down and **_**kill**_** you. Because I promise you, when I find you, I will make you sorry you ever messed with me or my family." **

* * *

**Elizabeth sighed. She was curled up on the couch watching an old love movie on TV. Satchmo was curled up at her feet. **

**She wished she could enjoy the movie but she couldn't. Her mind kept drifting off to Neal and Peter. **

**Neither one of them will ever admit it, but she knew that they were more than partners. They had accepted each other as family. And Elizabeth knew that Peter would never rest until he found the police responsible for hurting Neal.**

**Satchmo lifted his head. Elizabeth sighed. "Don't hold your breath boy. Your dad won't be home tonight."**

**No sooner had Elizabeth said those words, the doorbell rang. Satchmo took off from the couch and ran to the front door barking. Elizabeth sighed. "Who in the world would be here at one thirty in the morning?"**

**Elizabeth smiled. It must have been Neal, who had somehow snuck out of the hospital and was now looking for someplace to hide. **

"**Neal, what are you—" Elizabeth said as she opened the door. She stopped when she saw it was **_**not **_**Neal standing on her front porch. **

"**Oh my God," breathed Elizabeth. "Kate, what the hell are you doing here?" **

* * *

**A/N: Dun, dun, dun! Ta-dah! Multiple cliffhangers for one chapter! Awesome! **

**I hope this chapter wasn't too fluffy. I wanted to show that Peter and Neal are kind of like brothers. I hope I did a good job with it. **

**Please review! I love reviews. They make me happy. **


	6. Chapter 6

**The Crime of the Century**

**By RascalFlattsS**

**Disclaimer: Still a poor college student. Do not own White Collar. **

**I apologize for any spelling and grammatical errors. Unfortately, my computer is not yet smarter than me and we are currently in a stalemate. Any errors are mine. **

**Warnings: Again, I think at this point, just assume that there are spoilers for probably the entire first season of White Collar. Some swearing and violence. Nothing too horribly severe, I promise.**

**Some AU in this chapter. In order to show Neal's connection to the bad guys, I decided to explore some possibilities of Neal's childhood and how he became a white collar criminal. Also in this chapter, I also explored a little bit of Mozzie's past and how Neal and Mozzie meet. Hopefully, this helps explain how Neal is who he is, why he doesn't like guns, why he is a white collar criminal and also, I think it helps the story flow. **

**A/N: Thanks for all the reviews! I love reviews! They encourage me to write and update sooner (that and it's either this or taking notes for my psychology class and I think we all know what I'd rather be doing….)**

**Also sorry for the long chapter. Hopefully this makes up for the multiple cliffhangers in the previous chapter. **

* * *

**Chapter 6: Things Just Got More Interested and Complicated….But that's what Family Is For**

"**Kate," Elizabeth breathed. She couldn't believe that Kate was standing on her front porch. "What the **_**hell**_** are you doing here?"**

"**That's no way to greet a guest," said Kate. She looked past Elizabeth into the house. "You know it's rude to leave people standing on the front porch, especially when it is freezing outside."**

"**Give me one good reason not to shut this door in your face," said Elizabeth angrily. Elizabeth started to close the door but Kate stuck her foot out, causing the door to stay open a half an inch. **

"**It's about Neal," said Kate. "He's in trouble."**

"**I'll say," said Elizabeth, "seeing as how you're trying to **_**kill**_** him."**

**Kate stepped back, hurt showing on her face. "I would never try to kill Neal!" **

"**Forgive me if I don't believe you," said Elizabeth. "Someone gave Neal a shot of penicillin, which he is deathly allergic to. Neither Peter nor I knew about Neal's allergy until today, which leaves only two people who knew about his allergy. Since I don't believe that Mozzie would try to kill Neal that leaves **_**you." **_

"**I know this looks bad, but I would never hurt Neal," said Kate. "You have to believe me, Mrs. Burke."**

**Elizabeth shook her head. "If you didn't try to kill Neal, then who did?"**

**Kate paused. She glanced around looking. "Not out here." **

**Elizabeth sighed. "Fine," she held the door open and stepped aside to let Kate walk in. **

**Kate stepped into the house and smiled. "Thanks." **

**Elizabeth closed and locked the door. "Just don't make me regret this. Try anything and I will kick you out so fast it will make your head spin."**

**Kate smiled. She walked over and sat down at the table. Satchmo ran up to her and started wagging his tail. Kate bent down to scratch behind his ear.**

**Elizabeth walked over to the table. "Set it on the table," she said simply. **

"**What?" Kate looked up at her puzzled.**

"**Your gun," said Elizabeth. "I assume that you are packing. So set it out on the table or we're done talking."**

**Kate shook her head and then smiled. She reached into her coat and pulled out a handgun. She set it down on the table. "I see Agent Burke has taught you well." **

"**Slide it over to me," said Elizabeth. Kate picked up the gun by the barrel and handed to Elizabeth. Elizabeth picked up the gun and sat down at the table across from Kate, holding the gun tightly in her hand.**

"**Not very trusting, are you?" asked Kate.**

"**Forgive me, but I'm not in the mood to trust you," said Elizabeth. "Neal's my friend. You break his heart and then you string him along trying to find that stupid music box. Then you get my husband dragged into it and he almost lost his job because of it. You hurt my family. So no, I don't trust you. So start talking or get the hell out. Who is behind this? Who is trying to kill Neal?"**

**Kate sighed. "How much do you know about Neal's childhood?" **

"**Not much," said Elizabeth. "Why?"**

"**Neal's mother died when he was a child," said Kate. "His father, Douglas Caffrey remarried a young woman by the name of Teresa Aguilar. She also had a son, Damon. Neal was twelve when his father remarried and Damon was seventeen."**

**Kate paused. "Damon was a bad seed. He's violent and unstable He's started selling drugs and became involved in the local gang. He quickly worked his way up the ranks. **

"**When Neal was fourteen, Damon got involved with in a turf war with a rival group. When he picked up Neal from school, instead of taking him home, he took him with him into the other gang's terrority and launched an attack on them. Neal got caught in the crossfire and was hit in the side."**

**Elizabeth gasped. "Oh my God." She could barely image a young fourteen year old Neal Caffrey being pulled into a turf war and getting shot. No wonder Neal hated guns so much. **

**Kate continued. "Damon managed to drop Neal off at the local emergency room. The wound itself wasn't that bad; it was a through and through, missed all the major organs and did very little damage. While they were stitching him up, they gave him a shot of penicillin to prevent infection."**

"**Did he go into anaphylactic shock?" asked Elizabeth. **

**Kate nodded. "That's when they found out he was allergic to penicillin. They called Neal's father. After he came to the hospital and found out what happened, he went to find Damon. They found Douglas Caffrey's body in the Hudson a few days later. He was shot in the head."**

"**Did Damon---"Elizabeth started to ask but stop. The thought was too horrifying to verbalize. **

**Kate shrugged. "The cops were never able to find any evidence but my guess is that Damon killed Douglas. Neal believes beyond a doubt that it was Damon."**

"**What happened then?" asked Elizabeth.**

"**Damon vanished," said Kate. "He took off in the middle of the night without a word to anyone. His mother was crushed; Teresa's world revolved around her son. She never believed a bad word against him. She blamed Neal for her son's disappearance. She left. She didn't even say good bye to Neal or even attend her husband's funeral." **

"**Poor Neal," said Elizabeth softly. "That's horrible. What happened to Neal?"**

"**He was put into foster care," said Kate. "He was placed with a temporary foster home with a man named Lawrence Ramsey. He was a rich elderly gentleman who lived in Manhattan."**

"**Why would someone like that take in a foster child?" asked Elizabeth.**

"**His sister and her husband had died in a car crash," said Kate, "leaving Ramsey to take care of their son. You know him as the 'conspiracy theorist.'"**

**Elizabeth thought for a moment before it hit her. She gasped. "Mozzie?!" **

**Kate nodded. "How do you think Mozzie and Neal meet? Moz was in graduate school and was volunteering working with kids in foster care. He met Neal and I think that Neal reminded him a lot of himself. He convinced his uncle to take Neal in and Ramsey did. **

"**It saved Neal's life. Ramsey sent Neal to Trinity. Neal was passionate for art, even then. His father had always encouraged his talent and Ramsey and Mozzie pushed him further. Neal's highly intelligent and he excelled at school. Mozzie used to take him to all the art museums on weekends."**

**Kate smiled, "Did I mention that Lawrence Ramsey was one of the greatest White Collar criminals of the twentieth century?" **

* * *

**Peter was pacing around the hospital like a madman snapping at everyone in his path. Agents Cheng and Westman had regained consciousness. Neither man had seen who attacked them and taken Neal. Jones and Lauren had arrived at the hospital quickly and had scoured the place top to bottom and found nothing.**

"**How is it," Peter asked angrily, "that no one can see anything? I mean how is it that everyone misses an FBI consultant being kidnapped!!" **

**Jones sighed. "Whoever these guys are, they're professionals. Agents Cheng and Westman were attacked from behind-a complete blitz attack. They weren't spotted on the security cameras coming in or leaving with Caffrey, not to mention being spotted by any of the staff. These guys are good." **

**Peter sighed. "Great. Just great! Did they leave anything behind we can use?" **

**Lauren shook her head. "Nothing. No hair, fibers, fingerprints, **_**nothing.**_** Can't we track Neal's anklet?" **

**Peter shook his head, "Neal doesn't have the anklet on."**

"**Why not?" demanded Lauren. **

"**The doctor had to cut it off for the CT scan," snapped Peter. "He couldn't run the test with the anklet on. Since Neal's life is more important, I told the doctor to cut it to make sure that Neal wasn't bleeding into his skull!" **

**Peter turned to face the wall. "Damn it!" He cursed. He punched the wall hard, leaving a fist size dent in the wall. **

"**Peter!" Jones yelled. He and Lauren grabbed Peter back and pushed him into a chair. "Look, I know you are upset about Caffrey's disappearance but punching the wall or yelling at everyone isn't going to help find Caffrey." **

**Peter sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "You're right. I'm sorry. I'm just worried about Neal." **

"**We all are," said Lauren. "Don't worry, we'll find him."**

"**Before or after they kill him?" asked Peter sarcastically. "Whoever took Neal tried to kill him **_**three **_**times apparently."**

"**What do you mean, 'three times'?" asked Lauren confused. "There have only been two attempts on Neal's life today, right? Or did I miss one?" **

**Peter shook his head. "No. Neal called me. He said that the second attempt-the penicillin- was a distraction. Neal said it was a 'fake' attempt to kill him."**

"**A 'fake' attempt?" repeated Jones. "How does that work?"**

**Peter shrugged. "I don't know. Neal said that it was a necessary risk to attack him in the hospital."**

"**That makes sense," said Lauren. Both men looked up at her. "I mean think about. Neal's already in the hospital attached to all sorts of monitors. As soon as the penicillin entered Neal's body, he has the allergic reaction and the monitors go crazy and the doctors come rushing in. Once they know it's an allergic reaction they can treat it immediately. There's very little risk of Neal actually dying from that attack. The risk outweighs the benefits, so why take an unnecessary risk?"**

"**That's what Neal said," said Peter. "He said this was a ruse to get us off track-to hide his identity. Apparently this guy tried to kill Neal eight years ago." Peter looked up at his agents. "Did you find anything in his case files?"**

**Jones shook his head. "Nothing. Caffrey's file only goes back six years. You trailed him for two years before catching him and then he was in jail for four years and then he's been working for us." Jones sighed. "I've gone through every case we ever suspect Caffrey for. I can't find anyone who has a grudge against him. At least, not serious enough to risk all this." **

**Peter ran his hand through his hair. "We must be missing something. We aren't digging back far enough. Dig through Neal's past. Go through not only his childhood but his parents' childhoods and even up to his grandparents and great-grandparents if you have to." **

**Jones nodded. Peter looked up at Lauren who seemed lost in thought. **

"**Cruz," said Peter. "What are you thinking?" **

"**It doesn't make any sense," said Lauren slowly. **

"**What?" asked Peter. "None of this makes any sense!"**

"**It's just that," said Lauren. "Whoever this is has made two attempts on Neal's life that we know of, right?"**

"**Right," said Peter.**

"**So if this person wants Neal dead, why kidnap him?" asked Lauren. "If they wanted Neal dead, they could have just easily killed him and left him in the hospital room. Why go to all the trouble of kidnapping him if their goal is simply to kill him?"**

**Peter's head snapped up. Realization hit him like a ton of bricks. "Oh my God," said Peter. He jumped up. "Cruz, you're a genius!"**

"**Thank you," said Lauren. "Why?"**

"**Neal's friend was talking about a 'crime of the century' going down," said Peter. "And the only person who could stop it was Neal. But what if they need Neal in order to complete the job?"**

"**Or," said Jones slowly, "What if they need something he **_**has?" **_

"**Neal stole something," said Peter. "And they need it." **

* * *

"**Let me get this straight," said Elizabeth, "they put Neal in a foster home with a white collar crime?" **

"**Well, it's not like they knew Ramsey was a criminal," said Elizabeth. "Have you heard of 'Ombre'? "**

"**Yeah," said Elizabeth. "I think Peter has mentioned something about him once or twice when he's going through old case files. He compared Neal to him once or twice when he was tracking him." **

**Kate laughed. "Well, that make sense, seeing as how Ombre taught Neal everything he knows. Ombre is French. It means 'shadow'. Ombre was one of the biggest white collar criminals in the late sixties, seventies and early eighties."**

"**How was he never caught?" asked Kate.**

"**He was very good at keeping his identity separate from the Ombre," said Kate. "That's one skill that Neal never really mastered."**

"**So what?" asked Elizabeth. "Neal was Ramsey's protégé?" **

"**Something like that," said Kate. "One of the things that made Ramsey so good was that he had a partner that he worked with. His name was Robert Taylor. Taylor was often Ramsey's inside man and between the two of them, they pulled off almost anything."**

**Elizabeth chuckled. "That sounds like Neal and Mozzie." **

"**Pretty much," said Kate. "Neal and Mozzie reminded Ramsey and Taylor of themselves and they started training the two how to run white collar crimes. They started out small and then began working their way up on to bigger and bigger crimes with Ramsey and Taylor helping them and showing them the ropes.**

"**When Neal was twenty, he and Mozzie were pretty much running schemes on their own. That's when Damon came back to New York."**

"**Oh no," said Elizabeth. "That can't be good."**

**Kate shook her head. "It's not. Damon moved back, thinking it was safe again. Somehow he heard that his stepbrother was working as a white collar criminal and was highly successful at it. He decided that he wanted Neal to work for him. He hatched a plan for this huge heist and he wanted Neal to do it. Neal said no. Neal wanted nothing to do with Damon."**

"**I can image," said Elizabeth. **

**Kate took a deep breath. "Neal said no and walked out. Damon wanted to teach Neal a lesson that no one says to Damon. He found out where Neal was living and he sent a hit man after Neal. He was supposed to kill Neal. Luckily Neal wasn't home that night. Neither was Mozzie. But Ramsey was."**

"**Oh my God," said Elizabeth, tears forming in her eyes. **

"**He didn't kill Ramsey," said Kate. "Luckily he was hit in the shoulder. But Damon swore that he would kill Ramsey if Neal didn't cooperate. What else could Neal do? He said he'd help."**

"**What did Damon want Neal to do?" asked Elizabeth.**

"**Break into the Federal Reserve," said Kate, "he wanted Neal to steal some bonds and then forge copies. The problem was in order to get Neal in; Damon planned to set off a bomb. And you know Neal, he's against violence."**

"**What did Neal do?" asked Elizabeth.**

"**What Neal always does," said Kate simply. "He and Mozzie hatched out a plan to catch Damon red handed and turn him into the Feds. They convinced Damon they were on his side and told him that they need him to scout out the bank. They put some explosives and guns in his car and along with a copy of forged bonds. They then phoned in a tip to the FBI that Damon was going to switch out the bonds and rob the bank."**

"**I remember that," said Elizabeth. "Peter was there. He said the guy got away."**

"**The one flaw in the plan," said Kate. "Damon escaped even though many of his men were caught. He left town but not before he found Neal. He found out Neal and Mozzie's hiding place. Ramsey and Taylor were there as well."**

"**What happened?" asked Elizabeth.**

"**He started a fire," said Kate. "It was an older building, not up to fire code. The fire spread quickly. Part of the roof collapsed and it separated Mozzie and Neal from Ramsey and Taylor. Neal and Mozzie fell through the floor and Neal fractured his ankle. He would have never made it out if Mozzie hadn't helped him. They barely made it out before the entire building collapsed." Kate paused. **

"**I remember reading about that fire," said Elizabeth. "Two people died." She paused. "It was Ramsey and Taylor, wasn't it?"**

**Kate nodded. "Shortly after that, I meet Neal and became part of the team. Then your husband started trailing Neal."**

"**What happened to Damon?" asked Elizabeth. **

"**He had no choice but to flee the country, what with the FBI hot on his tail," said Kate. She sighed. "But he's back. And he knows that Neal's out and working for the FBI."**

"**How does he know that?" asked Elizabeth.**

"**I might have told him," said Kate slowly. **

"**WHAT?!" shouted Elizabeth.**

"**I didn't know it was him!" said Kate. "I was out in California and I was working a 'job'"- she used air quotes around the word job-"when I met him. He said his name was Carl Jenkins. We worked a job together and we made a good team. He asked me where I was from and I told him about New York and Neal. He seemed very excited about Neal and I didn't think anything of it-I mean Neal was a big player, I thought he was a fan of Neal's! I didn't know it was his deranged, crazy stepbrother!"**

"**He's here, isn't he?" asked Elizabeth. "He's the one whose trying to kill Neal, isn't it?" **

**Kate nodded. "Unfortunately yes," she said. "It gets worse."**

"**How does it get worse?" asked Elizabeth. **

"**Damon's back in New York," said Kate. "And he's about to pull off a huge heist. It's suppose to be 'the crime of the century'. Whatever Damon's planning, it's going to be big. And knowing Damon, it's also going to be bloody."**

"**And what does Neal have to do with this?" asked Elizabeth. **

"**Neal's the only one who can stop this," said Kate. "He's the only one who can stop Damon. In fact, he already has."**

"**What are you talking about?" asked Elizabeth. **

"**Neal stole something," said Kate slowly.**

"**Neal stole a lot of things," said Elizabeth.**

"**Déjà vu," said Kate, thinking back to her meeting with Peter. "Neal stole something that Damon needs in order to pull of this huge heist. Neal has it and Damon needs it. And Damon-well-he's kidnapped Neal."**

"**WHAT?!" screamed Elizabeth. She jumped up, knocking the chair backwards. It crashed to the floor with a loud bang.**

"**What are you doing?!" Kate shouted as Elizabeth picked up the phone.**

"**Calling my husband," said Elizabeth. "So he can stop this and save Neal."**

"**It's too late," said Kate. "Damon already has Neal. Elizabeth, he'll kill Neal if Neal doesn't give him what he wants." She took a deep breath. "Neal **_**hates **_**Damon. He'll never give Damon what he wants." **

"**And they'll kill him," said Elizabeth slowly. Realization set in, along with a new level of fear and worry. Her legs seemed to turn to jello. Kate grabbed her arm to keep her from falling and lead her over to the couch. Elizabeth sat down on the couch and buried her face in her hands. Kate sat down next to her.**

"**Elizabeth," Kate said slowly. "That's why I'm here. I need your help. **

* * *

"**Oh crap," said Neal. He starred at the familiar figure standing in the doorway. **

"**Hello little brother," said Damon. He walked forward until he was standing under the light. Damon had been an attractive when he was younger with dark blonde hair and dark brown eyes that were almost black. Damon's hair was thinner and had turned lighter, almost a slivery blonde. His eyes were still incredible dark, full of hatred. **

"**Don't call me **_**that**_**," spat Neal. "I'm not your brother!"**

**Damon walked forward and punched Neal in the face. Neal's head snapped back. He groaned. It felt as if his nose was broken. **

"**Ow," said Neal.**

"**Trust me, you had that coming," said Damon. Damon punched him in the ribs. Neal gasped out in pain. "You sold me out to the feds!"**

"**You wanted to blow up a building!" shouted Neal. "You're a **_murderer_**!" **

"**And you're a thief," said Damon. "And an FBI snitch." **

"**At least I still have my conscience," said Neal. "What about you, Damon? You're nothing but a drug dealer and murderer. And you're a horrible disgrace of a human being." **

**Damon punched him again. "Now Neal, you're not helping your case."**

"**Just wait," gasped Neal.**

"**For what?" asked Damon. "Your little FBI friends to get here? Agent Burke, isn't it? Well, I've got news for you, Neal. Agent Burke is never going to find you. No one is ever going to be able to find you. You'll be dead long before then."**

"**Speaking of which," said Neal. "If you wanted me dead, why go through all the work of kidnapping me? Seems like a lot of work, don't you think?"**

**Damon laughed. "You were always the smart one, Neal. Because I'm such a good big brother-"**

"**Oh yeah," interrupted Neal. "You were a great brother. You got me shot, killed my father, my uncles and tried to burn me and my friend alive. Not to mention the two attempts on my life in the past twenty four hours, which I assume you had something to do with. Yeah, you're a great big brother Damon. Just super." **

**Damon frowned. He pulled out a gun and stuck Neal in the side of the head. Neal's head spin and he blacked out for a minute. When he came back to, Damon was yelling at him. **

"**You will respect me!" shouted Damon. "As I was saying, you betrayed me all those years ago. But I've found a way for you to redeem yourself."**

"**How's that?" asked Neal.**

"**You stole something," said Damon.**

"**I stole a lot of things," said Neal. "You're going to have to be more specific."**

"**You stole something I want," said Damon. "Something that I need. And you're going to tell me where it is." He pointed the gun at Neal. "Or else." **

* * *

**Dun, dun, dun! Another cliff hanger! Cliffie karma strikes again! Horrible, yet fun. **

**Thanks to Babel Fish for the translation of "Ombre" which is French for Shadow.**

**Also Trinity is a real school in New York City. It sounded like a school that Neal might go to. **

**Please R&R! Reviews help to encourage faster updates! (Hint, hint) **


	7. Chapter 7

The Crime of the Century

By RascalFlattsS

Disclaimer: Still a poor college student. Still do not own White Collar.

Warning: Mild swearing and some violence. Also again, assume at this point that there is a possible spoiler for the entire first season of White Collar.

Thanks for all your reviews. I love them! I am so glad that you all like the back story explaining Neal's and Mozzie's past!

* * *

Chapter 7: You Have To Be Kidding Me…

Mozzie walked into the Italian restaurant. He walked past the greeter and walked start to the back of the restaurant.

A young timid man tried to stop him, "Excuse me sir-you can't go in there."

Mozzie ignored him and opened the door and walked into the room. There was a group of men playing poker.

The young man burst in behind him, "I'm sorry sir, I tried to stop him—"

One of the men from the table stood up, "It's all right, Adam. Dante's an old friend of mine. He's always welcome here."

Adam nodded. "I'll be outside."

The man walked across the room and shook Mozzie's hand. "Dante, it's been too long. How are you?"

"I've had better days, Jason," said Mozzie, shaking Jason's hand."I'm assuming you've heard about what happened today."

Jason shook his head. "It's a shame about Caffrey. But he should have known better—the only good snitch is a dead snitch."

Mozzie snapped. He grabbed Jason's collar roughly and slammed Jason against the wall. The other four men at the poker table jumped up alarmed.

Jason held up his hand, "It's all right. Dante is not going to hurt me, are you Dante?" Mozzie let go Jason's collar.

"See?" said Jason. "Everything is fine. We're just two old friends talking. Go back to your game." Jason watched as the men returned to their game. "That was uncalled for, Dante."

Mozzie took a deep breath. "I know that Neal's done some stupid things in his life and he's certainly done things I don't agree with. But let me assure you this Jason, first, Neal is _**not **_a _snitch_-he is a _consultant_. If he was a snitch, he would have ratted you out to the feds a long time ago. And second, as long as I'm around, no one is going to harm one hair on that kid's head. _Are we clear_?!"

Jason nodded, "Caffrey must have something big on you to get this kind of loyalty."

Mozzie shook his head. "Neal's a good kid. He's loyal to his friends. And so am I."

"Your point Dante?" asked Jason.

"I need some information," said Mozzie.

"About what?" Jason asked already knowing the answer.

"Rumor has it there's a 'crime of the century' going down," said Mozzie. "And whoever is behind it has tried to kill Neal. You're going to tell me who's behind it."

"And why would I do that?" asked Jason.

"Because we're friends," said Mozzie. "And friends keep each other's secrets. Like for example, this underground poker game you're running. It would really suck if one of my new friends-Mr. Suit-were to find out about this."

"All right! All right!" said Jason. "I get your point, Dante. What do you want to know?"

"Just give me a name," said Mozzie.

Jason sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "And you didn't hear this from me?"

"If you tell me what I need to know," said Mozzie, "I was never here."

"Fine," said Jason. "But just a piece of advice Dante, whatever you and Caffrey have gotten into-whatever the hell you two are planning-get out fast. This guy is trouble."

"Who is it?" asked Mozzie, fearfully.

"You already know him," said Jason sadly. "It's Damon Aguilar."

Mozzie felt his heart drop. "Oh God-"

Jason nodded. He patted his shoulder. "Like I said, Dante, whatever you and Caffrey are planned, I'd get out fast. Damon's nothing but trouble and he's got one hell of a grudge to settle with Caffrey."

* * *

"You need my help?" repeated Elizabeth confused. "What on earth for?"

Kate sighed. "Whatever Neal has stolen, I need to steal it first. And I need you to help me steal it."

Elizabeth jumped up off the couch. "Are you crazy?!" she shouted, "why on _**earth **_would I help you steal something?!"

"If you don't help me, Neal will die!" shouted Kate. "Neal is the key to this puzzle. And God knows he's too damn stubborn to save himself so you're going to have to do it for him."

"Why can't you do it?" asked Elizabeth. "You claim to love him so much. Why don't you save him?"

"Damon thinks I am working for him," said Kate. "I can't blow my cover! If he finds out I am helping the FBI, we're all in trouble. I'm taking a big enough risk coming here to talk to you."

Elizabeth shook her head. "Peter will find him—"

"No offense, Mrs. Burke but if Damon doesn't want to be found, he won't be found," said Kate. "And he'll make sure Neal disappears off the face of the earth with him."

Elizabeth shook her head. Then realization hit her. "You know where Neal is, don't you?"

"What difference does that make?" asked Kate.

"You know where he is!" shouted Elizabeth. "Tell me!"

"I can't," said Kate.

"What do you mean you can't?" asked Elizabeth. "You want Neal to be killed?"

"Of course not," said Kate. "If I did, I wouldn't be here talking to _you_. And if Damon knows the FBI is coming, it will be a mascure. Damon's got nothing to lose and nothing to gain and he's not afraid to kill Neal or anyone else in his path." Kate took a deep breath. "Trust me Mrs. Burke, this is the only hand we have to play."  
Elizabeth sighed. "Fine. Why do you need me to steal it? Why can't you do it?"

"Believe me, asking you and your husband for help isn't exactly a picnic for me," said Kate. "But if I get caught trying to double cross Damon, well, you don't want to know what will happen. But if you and Peter steal it, then it looks like Neal told you. Trust me, this is safer for everyone."

"Fine," said Elizabeth. "I'll help you. Just tell me what you need me to steal."

Kate reached out into her pocket and pulled out a piece of paper. She handed it to Elizabeth. Elizabeth unfolded it and looked up at Kate, with a look of surprise and shock written all over her face.

"You've got to be kidding me."

* * *

Mozzie ran out of the restaurant, his head spinning. He felt sick to his stomach. Damon was back—and he had tried to kill Neal. Oh God, oh God…

Mozzie walked down to the street and sat down on a park bench. He brought his head down to his knees, taking deep breathes; trying to get his head to stop spinning.

Mozzie's mind flashed back to when he first meet Neal. It was almost fourteen years ago to the day…

_Mozzie was just about to leave for the day when Mr. White had called out his name. Mozzie turned and looked at him. "Yes?" he asked._

"_Dante," said Mr. White. "I know you're done for the day but…" His voice trailed off and he looked up at Mozzie expectantly. _

"_It's no problem, Mr. White," said Mozzie. "What can I do for you?"_

_Mr. White breathed a sigh of relief, "It's one of our newer kids. He's recently just lost his father and he's not talking to any of the case workers. Would you talk to him?"_

"_Sure," said Mozzie. "But if he won't open up to the case workers, what make you think he will talk to me?" _

_Mr. White shrugged. "He reminds me a lot of you. Maybe he'll open up to someone he can relate to. He's in room 114."_

_Mozzie nodded. He turned back and walked down the hall to room 114. He knocked on the door and opened it when he heard a very timid reply saying it was open._

_Mozzie walked in. Sitting on the bed was a small skinny teenage boy. He had long wavy black hair that hung loosely around his face. There were dark circles under his bloodshot eyes and his face was very pale._

_Mozzie walked over and sat down in the chair at the small desk. "Hi."_

_The teenager looked up at him and mumbled, "Hi." _

"_I'm Dante," said Mozzie. _

"_You don't look like a Dante," said the teenager quickly._

_Mozzie looked up puzzled. He hadn't expected the kid to be so straight forward._

"_My mom named me after my grandfather," said Mozzie. He sighed. "My parents died in a car crash when I was about your age."_

"_Oh," said the teenager softly, "I'm sorry." He took a deep breath and said softly. "My parents are dead too." He turned his head away quickly to hide the tears in his eyes. Mozzie pretended not to notice. _

"_I'm sorry to hear that," said Mozzie softly. "If you ever need someone to talk to, you can always talk to me. Or feel free to ask me any questions."_

_The kid looked up at him. "What happened? Once your parents died?" _

"_I went to live with my uncle," said Mozzie, "and I've lived there ever since."_

"_I don't have any aunts or uncles," said the teenager, fresh tears forming in his eyes. He quickly brushed them aside with a swipe of his hand. "Well, I mean, my mom had a sister but they had some huge fight before I was born and they haven't talked to each other since. I don't even know my aunt's name or where she lives or anything!"_

_The teenager sighed and took a deep breath. "My mom died of cancer when I was eight. My dad and I were really close, you know?" Mozzie nodded in understanding. That continued the boy to continue with his story. "Then three years ago my dad met Teresa and he fell in love with her and he married her. Then Teresa and her son Damon gave to live with us." _

_Mozzie nodded. "That must be nice, having your stepmom and stepbrother. I bet you want to go home and live with them, huh?"_

_The teenager's face became filled with fear and horror. His jaw dropped and his deep blue eyes widened in fear as fresh tears fell and rolled down his face. He jumped up from the bed. "NO! I don't ever want to see Teresa or Damon again! Please don't send me back there! PLEASE!"_

_Mozzie jumped up concerned. "Whoa! Take it easy! No one is going to send you back there if you don't want to! You don't have to go anywhere you don't want to, okay? Okay?" _

_The boy sat back down on the bed and Mozzie sat down on the bed next to him. The kid looked up at him with those wide blue eyes. "You promise?" he asked in a scared voice. _

_Mozzie nodded. "Yes." He took a deep breath. "Can you tell me why you don't want to see your stepmom or stepbrother?" _

_The teenager nodded and took a deep breath. "Damon killed my dad. That's why I don't want to see him. He's pure evil."_

"_Why would Damon kill your father?" asked Mozzie. _

"_Damon's in a gang," said the teenager. "And a few weeks ago, he picked me up from school and he picked me up and on the way home he stopped in a rival gang's terrority. There was a shooting—" He took a deep breath. "I got scared and got out of the car. When I was running to the street to get help, I got hit in the side."_

_Mozzie's hand flew up to his mouth in horror. _

"_The hospital called my dad," he continued, "and the doctor told him I was shot. He was so angry; I've never seen him that angry. He demanded that I told him what happened and I did. When I finished, he pulled me into a hug and told me he loved me and then he left." He paused and sniffed his nose. "That was the last time I saw him."_

_Mozzie sighed. He put his arm around the boy's shoulder and gave him a one armed hug. "I'm so sorry." _

_The teenager nodded and continued. "They found my dad in the Hudson a few days later. He was---he was---shot in the head," his words came out in gasps. He took a deep breath before continuing. "I know Damon did it! I just know he did it! I just can't prove it!" _

_He took another deep breath, "Damon disappeared and then Teresa did too. The police can't find either one. They said they'd keep looking. But personally, I don't care if I ever see them again." _

_The teenager looked up and sighed. "I'm sorry, I've been rambling. My dad says-said-" he corrected, "that I talk too much."_

"_That's all right," said Mozzie. "I don't mind. That's what I'm here for. And it is always better to talk about these things-you know, get them out in the open. Talking to your friends helps."_

"_I don't have any friends," said the teenager. _

"_I can be your friend," said Mozzie. _

_The teenager's eyes lit up. "Really?" he asked smiling for the first time. _

_Mozzie nodded. "Sure." Mozzie looked at his watch. He jumped up and moved towards the door. "I should go. My uncle is making his famous prime steaks tonight."_

"_That sounds delicious," said the teenager hungrily. _

_Mozzie looked at him before making a decision. "If it's okay with Mr. White, why don't you join us for dinner?" _

_The boy's eyes lit up. "Really? You mean it? I don't want to be a bother—"_

_Mozzie waved his hand. "Of course not! My uncle would love to have you over for dinner. C'mon!"_

_The teenager jumped off the bed and rushed over to the door to join Mozzie. He smiled and held out his hand, "I'm Neal. Neal Caffrey." _

"_It's nice to meet you Neal," said Mozzie shaking his hand. _

"_I just have one question," said Neal. "Do I really have to call you Dante? Because you don't seem like a 'Dante' to me…"_

_Mozzie laughed. He could tell this was the beginning to a lifelong friendship. "Call me Mozzie." _

Mozzie quickly rubbed his hands across his eyes. He had been best friends with Neal for the past fourteen years. His uncle Ramsey had adored Neal and with a little bit of convincing from Mozzie (only a little bit) applied to be Neal's foster parent. Mozzie then took on the role of surrogate older brother and later surrogate father after Ramsey died.

_Just hang on Neal, _thought Mozzie, _I won't break my promise to you. I'll find you. And then I am going to kick Damon's ass. _

Mozzie pulled out his phone and dialed a number. He waited for the phone to connect, holding his breath, hoping that the other person on the other line would pick up.

"_Burke_."

"Hi Suit," said Mozzie. "It's me. I have good news and bad news."

"_What's the good news?" _

"I know who kidnapped Neal."

"_And the bad news?"_

Mozzie took a deep breath. "Neal is in a lot more trouble then we originally thought."

* * *

"You've got to be kidding me," said Elizabeth starring at the piece of paper in her hands. "You want me to steal a locket?"

"It's not just any locket," said Kate.

"Really?" asked Elizabeth. "What? Does this belong to Catherine the Great, too?"

"No," said Kate. "I'm assuming that you've seen the movie 'Titanic"?"

"Duh," said Elizabeth. "Who hasn't? Wait, don't tell me-this is about the 'Heart of the Ocean' diamond, isn't it?"

"No," said Kate. "The writers of the movie made that up. But something was brought over on the Titanic. Something far more valuable. That _locket_."

"This?" asked Elizabeth. "This looks like a trinket you could buy at Target. You're telling me that this is _valuable_?"

"To the trained eye," said Kate, "and it's not that the locket itself is valuable, it's what _inside_ the locket that is valuable."

"Oh God, this is just like the music box isn't it?" asked Elizabeth.

"Forget about the music box for a moment," said Kate. "I need you to focus here, Elizabeth! Neal's life-in fact probably all of our lives-depend on this locket."

"And what is inside this locket that is so _valuable_?" asked Elizabeth.

"A key," said Kate.

"A key to what?" asked Elizabeth.

"No," said Kate. "It's a key. You know-a physical _key-_the kind that unlocks your front door."

"Oh," said Elizabeth. "And what does this 'key' unlock?"

Kate shrugged. "Hell if I know. But Damon does. He's planning to steal whatever that key unlocks."

"And whatever that key unlocks is here in New York," said Elizabeth.

Kate nodded. "Yes. But what it is, I don't know. But without that key…" Her voice trails off.

Elizabeth nodded. "He can't unlock whatever the key unlocks."

"Which is why he needs Neal," said Kate.

"So what do you need me for?" asked Elizabeth.

Kate stood up. "You have to find and steal the locket before Damon does."

"Oh is that all?" asked Elizabeth sarcastically. "And here I thought it was going to be difficult."

"Look," said Kate. "Damon doesn't like Neal and once he gets what he wants from Neal, he will kill him. He won't bargain or negotiate with the FBI. The only way to get Neal out of this mess is to have something to leverage-something Damon wants more than revenge."

"The locket," said Elizabeth. "You think Damon will really hand over the locket for Neal?"

Kate shrugged. "Without the locket and the key, Damon's got nothing. He hates Neal but he needs that locket. Like I said, it's the only thing we've got."

Elizabeth nodded. "Okay, so where's the locket?"

"That's the million dollar question, isn't it?" asked Kate.

"You don't know where it is?" asked Elizabeth.

"If I knew where it was," said Kate, "I wouldn't need you to 'steal it' for me, would I? I'd just go get it myself!"

"And how am I supposed to find Neal's stash?" asked Elizabeth.

Kate waved her hand impatiently. "Oh it's not with the rest of Neal's 'acquisitions,'" she said. "Neal would want to keep the locket _closer_."

"What does that mean?" asked Elizabeth. "What is so important about this stupid locket?"

Kate sighed. "Look, I've told you a lot about Neal's past tonight. And as you can see, it's a very painful past and it's something Neal doesn't like to talk about. I've betrayed a lot of Neal's secrets tonight. Don't ask me to betray him once more."

Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "What is with all you white collar criminals speaking in the cryptic messages?"

Kate laughed. She then smiled. "So Elizabeth Burke, are you ready to join the ranks of the greatest white collar criminals?"

Elizabeth sighed. "I know I'm going to regret this," she took a deep breath. "Where do I start looking for the locket?"

* * *

Peter was pacing in his office. He was waiting for Neal's friend Mozzie to show up. He was glad that Mozzie was able to find out who had kidnapped Neal because at the moment, the FBI had absolutely no leads. But Peter heard the fear in Mozzie's voice when he told Peter that Neal was in a lot more trouble than they originally thought.

He had a general idea of the crimes that Neal-and presumably Mozzie-were involved in. He also knew that they mostly likely had run into dangerous criminals. And yet he had never seen Neal or his friend really truly afraid before. Neal had never batted an eye when he went up against Maria Fiametta, Avery Phillips, Pierce Spelman, Ryan Wilkes, or any other criminal that Peter and Neal had chased. Even those situations where Neal's life was endangered, he had never actually seen Neal afraid. Neal and Mozzie always seemed to have a plan on how to get out of trouble.

The fact that Mozzie-and mostly likely Neal-was afraid of this criminal made Peter more afraid than anything else.

There was a soft knock on the door. Peter looked up to see Mozzie standing in the doorway. "May I come in?"

Peter nodded. Mozzie stepped in and close the door behind him.

"I'm surprised you even agreed to meet me here," said Peter.

Mozzie nodded, "Normally I wouldn't but-" he paused and took a deep breath- "but considering the circumstances, this is the safest place to be."

"What is going on?" asked Peter.

"First you need to move Neal," said Mozzie, "and get him somewhere safe-somewhere that no one knows about."

Peter paused. He didn't realize that Mozzie didn't yet know that Neal had been kidnapped.

"What?" asked Mozzie, seeing the shocked look on Peter's face. "What is it? Did something happen to Neal? Is he okay? He isn't—" his voice cracked.

Peter shook his head. He took a deep breath. "Neal's been kidnapped."

"WHAT?!" shouted Mozzie. "How did this happen? I thought you had guards on him!"

"I did!" said Peter. "Whoever it was knocked out the guards and took Neal while managing to avoid every single security camera and witness. This was a professional kidnapping."

"Son of a bitch!" cursed Mozzie.

"You're going to have to be more specific," said Peter, "seeing as how there are a lot of those wander about."

"Damon Aguilar," growled Mozzie. "He's the SOB who hurt Neal."

Peter's eyebrow rose in shock, "His stepbrother?! What does Neal's stepbrother have to do with this?"

Mozzie smiled, "I'm impressed. Most people don't know that Neal and Damon were 'stepbrothers'." He sighed. "How much do you know about Neal's past?"

Peter ran his fingers through his hair. "Neal's mother died of cancer when he was eight and his father remarried when he was twelve. His father died when he was fourteen and Neal gets put into foster care. His foster parent is—"

"Lawrence Ramsey," finished Mozzie. "My uncle."

"What?" asked Peter. "How did Neal end up living in foster care with your uncle?"

"I was volunteering at a group home," said Mozzie, "that's how I meet Neal. It was right after his father died and his stepmother and brother had disappeared. I invited him over for dinner and Uncle Larry adored Neal. I convinced him to become a foster parent and let Neal live with us."

"Why were you living with your uncle?" asked Peter.

"I was orphaned when I was fourteen," said Mozzie quietly, "my parents were killed by a drunk driver. My uncle took me in and raised me."

"I'm sorry," said Peter. He took a deep breath. "My mother died shortly after I was born-I never knew my father. My aunt and uncle raised me like I was their own son."

Mozzie nodded. "Guess we have more in common than we thought, huh, Suit?"

"Yeah I guess," said Peter. He sighed. "So remind me again, why Neal's stepbrother is trying to kill him?"

"You remember a case about eight years ago," said Mozzie, "with someone trying to rob the Federal Reserve?"

"Yes," said Peter slowly.

"And how someone phoned in a tip to the FBI of who was going to rob it and when the robbery was going down?" asked Mozzie.

Realization struck Peter. "Wait a minute-you're telling me that _Neal was_ the one who tipped off the FBI?"

Mozzie nodded. "It was Damon's idea. Let me tell you he is one violent SOB. He wanted to use a bomb as a distraction. It would have killed a lot of people and you know Neal."

"He's against violence," said Peter slowly.

Mozzie nodded. "Neal may be a criminal but he's never EVER hurt anyone. Nor has he ever allowed anyone he works with to hurt anyone. Neal does not allow for violence." Mozzie smiled a little. "Plus, Neal _hates _Damon-taking him down was an added bonus."

"Why?" asked Peter. "Why would Neal hate Damon?"

Mozzie looked up at him surprised. "You don't know?"

"If I did, would I be asking?" asked Peter.

Mozzie sighed. "Have you read the report on Douglas Caffrey's death?"

"He was shot in the head," said Peter. "Found in the Hudson River. What does that have to do with anything—"

"Think about it Peter," said Mozzie. "Damon's a violent criminal who's not afraid to kill innocent people. Did it ever cross your mind why Neal ended up in foster care after his father died?"

Peter's mouth dropped open in horror. "You don't mean—"

"What? That Damon killed Douglas Caffrey?" said Mozzie. "Neal knows it and I know it and pretty much everyone who has ever met Damon knows it. But there's no evidence to support it."

"Why would Damon kill Neal's father?" asked Peter.

"I thought you knew Neal's file forward and backward!" said Mozzie. He took a deep breath. "Damon killed Douglas because Douglas found out that Damon took his son with him on a drug deal in a rival gang terrority. There was a shoot out between the two groups. Being a scared fourteen year old kid, Neal tried to get away and he got caught in the crossfire."

"Oh my God," breathed Peter, horrified. "No wonder Neal hates guns."

Mozzie nodded. "Neal managed to make it out to the street before passing out. A passerby called 911 and Neal was taken to the local hospital where they gave him penicillin to prevent infection."

"Oh no," said Peter.

"Yep," said Mozzie. "I don't know if that's when they found Neal was allergic to penicillin or if it was just they didn't have an ID on him so they couldn't pull up his records but anyway, the hospital treated him and called his father. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what happened."

"Douglas must have confronted Damon about what happened," said Peter slowly. "And Damon killed him." He took a deep breath. "Do you think Douglas told Damon that Neal was allergic to penicillin that night?"

"I don't know," said Mozzie. "But my guess is that if Damon didn't find out that night about Neal's allergy, he already knew."

Peter nodded. "When I talked to Neal, he said that whoever did this had tried to kill him before. Is that what he was referring to?"

Mozzie shook his head. "No. You remember what happened at the Federal Reserve?"

"Damon got away," said Peter.

Mozzie nodded. "He must have figured out that we ratted on him. He somehow found our hiding place-" he paused and took a deep breath. "We were hiding at the old Swanson factory."

Peter gasped. "I remember that. It was a fire-arson. Two people died."

Mozzie nodded, taking a deep breath as trying to hold back tears, "It was my uncle and his friend Taylor. We got separated when the roof collapsed and Neal and I fell through the floor. Neal broke his ankle. We almost didn't make it out."

Peter sighed. "I'm so sorry."

Mozzie shook his head. "Don't be sorry. Just help me find this SOB."

"We think that Damon kidnapped Neal because he wants something from Neal," said Peter. "Something he stole."

"Neal's stolen a lot of things," said Mozzie.

"I know," said Peter. "We've already established that." He took a deep breath. "We think that Neal has something that Damon must need to pull of this crime of the century. And he kidnapped Neal to find out where it is."

"But what does Neal have that Damon so desperately wants?" asked Mozzie.

"That," said Peter, "is the million dollar question."

* * *

"You have something I want," said Damon, "something I need. And you're going to give it to me. Or else."

"And why would I do something _that_ stupid?" asked Neal.

"Because," said Damon. "I might just let you live."

Neal laughed. "Somehow I doubt that. You're not the forgiving type, Damon."

"People can change," Damon said simply.

"You're right, people can change," said Neal. "But you're not a human being-you're a monster!"

Damon punched Neal is the ribs. Neal gasped as he felt the pain tripled on his already broken ribs. He gasped for air.

"Don't think you have nothing to lose Neal!" shouted Damon, punching him again in the ribs. "You have friends! You have family! You still have your life-at the moment. But if you don't tell me where it is, I will end you."

"First of all, you come anywhere near my friends, and I will kill you Damon," growled Neal, pure hatred in his eyes. "And I'm not a violent person! But if you hurt them, I _will_ kill you. That's a promise."

Damon laughed. He punched Neal again in the ribs. Neal gasped in pain and hunched over. Damon grabbed a fist full of hair and pulled his head up.

"That's what your father said right before I killed him," whispered Damon.

"You son of a-" Neal started to scream but was cut off by a punch to the ribs.

"Manners Caffrey!" shouted Damon. "You should be nice to me. Seeing as how I hold your life in my hands." Damon smiled when he saw Neal glare at him but other than that remained silent. He patted Neal's check. "Now that's a good boy. Now what was the second part of that little speech?"

"Second of all," gasped Neal. Every breath felt like a hot white knife was stabbing him in the chest, "I can't tell you where something is, if you don't tell me what that something is you're looking for!"

Damon laughed. "You were always the smart one Neal! But you're right, if I want you to tell me where you hide it, I should tell you what I'm looking for!"

Damon reached into his pocket and pulled out a fade photograph. He held it up to Neal's face.

"This is what I'm looking for," he said.

Neal starred at the picture for a minute. Then he looked up at Damon with a look of surprise and shock on his face. "You've got to be kidding me! What in the world do you want with my mother's locket?"

* * *

A/N: Cliffie karma strikes again! Oh no!! The horror!!!!!!!

What does the key inside the locket unlock? What is Damon _really _after? What does Neal's mother's locket have to do with any of this? Where is the locket? Which side is Kate _really _on? What more secrets are hidden in Neal's and Mozzie's (and maybe even Kate's, Elizabeth's, and Peter's) past? All these questions and more will be answered-as soon as I figure out what the answers are. I have a few ideas but feel free to PM if you guys have any!

Also, I hope it was too mushy (or violent) during Mozzie's flashback. I wanted to show how Mozzie and Neal meet for the first time. Also I hope you don't mind that I had Mozzie tell Peter about Neal's past instead of Elizabeth because in the next chapter, Elizabeth shows up to talk to Peter and Mozzie about what she knows and I thought it would be better if Peter knew somewhat of what was going on. But hopefully it all flowed nice.

Please review! I love reviews! Reviews encourage me to write instead of doing other things like homework… so press that review button so I don't have to do my homework….;-)


	8. Chapter 8

The Crime of the Century

By RascalFlattsS

Disclaimer: Still don't own White Collar. Bummer. Aw well.

Warnings: Moderate swearing and talk about torture (though no actual torture will occur nor is it very detailed, they just talk about torturing Neal and that's pretty much it) and of course Neal Whumpage (what would one of my White Collar stories be without some sort of Neal Whumpage, right?) Nothing to bad, I promise.

Again, assume at this point, that there is probably some sort of spoiler for probably every episode from the first season. There have been so many in this story I lost count. But none yet from the second season.

Thanks for your patience! I know I've been away to long. I had a huge writer's block for this story and could not for the life of me get past it. However watching the new episode, "Withdrawal" (which was AWESOME by the way! If you haven't watched it yet, you so MUST go watch it), it inspired me and hooray! My writer's block has been cured!

Thanks for the reviews! I love them-they encourage me to write faster.

* * *

Chapter 8: Stolen Art: Stealing Expensive and Priceless Artifacts is Way Overrated….

"You're after my mother's locket?" asked Neal. He looked up at Damon. "Why?"

"What difference does it make to you?" asked Damon. "You have it and I want it. It's simple really."

Neal rolled his eyes. "Oh c'mon Damon, I know you. You are in to high class items-six or seven figure items. Mom's locket-it's a just a little trinket. You can get better quality jewelry at Target!"

"If it's not worth anything," asked Damon, "then why did you hold on to it?"

Neal took a deep breath, trying to swallow past the lump in his throat. "Semimetal reasons."

"Aw, isn't that sweet?" mocked Damon. He walked around and punched Neal in the face. "Little baby Neal misses his mommy? Keep the locket so you can remember Mommy?"

"Something like that," said Neal.

"Something the valuable," said Damon, "You must carry it on your person. So you always have it on you."

Neal laughed, "You would think that, wouldn't you? But no, I don't carry it on me. Just in case. I wouldn't want to lose something that valuable, do I?"

Damon punched him again in the face. "Where is it, Neal? Did you give it to your girlfriend? What's her name?" He paused snapping his fingers. "Kate, right?"

Neal paused. Then he laughed, "No. No, Kate doesn't have it. That locket is the last thing I have of my mother's. You'd think I'd just give it away to anyone? Granted, I love Kate but still…"

Damon stood in front of Neal, placed his arms on the arm of the chair and leaned forward till his face was inches away from Neal's.

"You keep it somewhere close," said Damon softly. "Don't you? Where is it? Your place? Your FBI office? Where is it?"

Neal looked his stepbrother in the eyes, "It is somewhere safe. Somewhere you will never find it. I promise you that."

* * *

Peter sighed. He walked over to his desk and leaned against it. He had a killer headache. This day was going on long enough and from the sound of it, it was going to continue to be a long day.

"So what do we do now?" asked Mozzie.

Peter sighed. He turned and walked out of his office. Mozzie followed him. Peter walked into the conference room.

"Jones!" Peter shouted. Jones and Cruz looked up from the stack of files they were going through.

"What's up Peter?" asked Jones. "Any news?"

"We have a lead," said Peter. "I need you to find out everything you can about a Damon Aguilar."

Cruz quickly wrote down the name. "How's he related to Caffrey?" she asked. "Old contact of his?"

"Something like that," said Peter. "Damon is Neal's stepbrother."

Cruz gasped and Jones' jaw dropped. "Neal has a stepbrother? Are you serious?" Jones paused with the look on Peter's face. "Of course you are. What? You think that Neal's stepbrother is what? The one who tried to kill him?"

"Pretty much," said Peter. "Neal and Damon don't get along very well." Mozzie scoffed from the doorway. Peter gave him a look that silenced him.

Peter turned back to the two FBI agents, "I want to know everything about Damon. Everything from who he works with, where he likes to hang out down to his favorite color! Got it!"Jones and Cruz nodded.

"Good," said Peter. "Let me know the millisecond you find something."

"Sure thing boss," said Jones. Peter nodded and he and Mozzie went back to his office.

* * *

June sat in the pallor, slipping an excellent cup of coffee. She was trying to read her book, but yet her mind could not focus. She re-read the same page for the third page before she finally set the book down admitting defeat.

Her mind was focused on Neal Caffrey. She had answered the phone when Agent Burke had called to tell her that Neal had been a car accident and was in the hospital. She had turned around to tell Mozzie but he was gone.

She knew he'd never admit it, but he really worried about Neal. She did too. But Peter had assured her that Neal's injuries were not life-threatening. Neal had also called her later.

"I'm fine June," Neal had said. "It was just some idiot who ran a red light and clipped me when I came out of Starbucks. I'm just a little banged up; I'd be home tonight if they let me. So, there is no need to worry."

But yet, despite what Neal had told her, June was worried. She couldn't quite put her finger on it but she could just feel that something was wrong. Call it motherly instinct. Because at some point, Neal had become like a son to her.

The door bell rang. June got up and went to answer it. She expected it to be Agent Burke or Mozzie or perhaps Neal had finally managed to escape from the hospital.

She opened the door and was surprised to see Elizabeth Burke standing there.

Elizabeth smiled but it didn't reach her eyes. "Hi June. Can I come in?"

"Of course," said June. She stepped aside, holding the door open for Elizabeth. Elizabeth quickly stepped inside.

"Come let's sit," said June. She directed Elizabeth into the warm pallor. "Can I get you a cup of coffee?"

Elizabeth shook her head, "No thank you, June."

"You seemed trouble dear," said June. "Is everything all right?"

Elizabeth shook her head, "No," she sighed. "Kate came to see me tonight."

"Kate?" asked June. "Isn't that Neal's ex-girlfriend?" Elizabeth nodded. "Why would Kate come to see you?"

"She needs my help," said Elizabeth. "More specifically, Neal needs my help." She sighed. "And I need your help."

"Of course," said June. She took Elizabeth's hands in her own. "What can I do?"

Elizabeth reached into her purse and pulled out the picture of the locket. She unfolded it and showed it to June. "Have you ever seen Neal with this locket?"

June took the picture and looked at it. She shook her head, "No. I've never seen that before. Is it something Neal stole?"

Elizabeth shook her head. "No. It belonged to Neal's mother." She paused, "Did Neal tell you much about his childhood?"

June shook her head, "Just that his parents had died and he lived with a foster family," said June. "I could tell it pained him and I didn't want to pry." She looked up at Elizabeth, "This locket? It's the reason someone tried to kill Neal today, isn't it?"

Elizabeth nodded. "His stepbrother."

"His stepbrother?" exclaimed June. "I didn't know he had a stepbrother!"

"Neither did I," said Elizabeth, "until Kate told me." She took a deep breath, "Neal's mother died when he was eight. His father remarried Damon's mother when Neal was twelve. Damon was a gang member and at age fourteen, Damon almost got Neal killed in a drive-by and then killed his father."

"Oh my God," breathed June. "Poor Neal."

Elizabeth nodded. "Then eight years ago, Neal and Damon met again and Neal stopped Damon from killing lots of innocent people. I guess Damon didn't take it very well. Because now he's back in New York and he's got Neal." June gasped.

Elizabeth continued, "Kate told me that Damon is back in New York to steal 'something big' and that locket," she pointed to the picture, "has a key inside that will unlock whatever Damon wants to steal. And he needs that key-and the locket."

June shrugged. She hated the thought of Neal being in danger. "What do we do?"

"Kate told me that Damon wants the locket more than he wants revenge against Neal," said Elizabeth. "She thinks if we can find the locket, we can trade it for Neal."

June nodded, "Do you know where the locket is?"

Elizabeth shook her head. "Kate told me that the Neal would want to keep the locket close to him, so it wouldn't be with the rest of his 'stash'. She didn't tell me for certain, but I'm almost certain that the locket belonged to his mother."

June nodded in agreement, "Given Neal's attachment to the locket that would make sense. Do you think he keeps it on his person?"

Elizabeth shook her head. "No, that's too much of a risk. But I think Neal would have hidden it somewhere where he had easy access to it."

"Like here," said June.

Elizabeth nodded. "I think so." She looked at June. "Do I have your permission to search your house for the locket?"

June stood up, "You have more than my permission, my dear. You have my assistance."

Elizabeth stood up also. "Thank you."

June nodded. "Come. Let's find that locket and get our boy back."

* * *

"He's not going to tell you."

Damon walked out of the room and looked up at his associate Lucas. Lucas had been watching the interaction via a computer screen.

Damon sighed. He ran his fingers through his hair, "You think so?"

Lucas nodded. "Caffrey seems determined. I don't think torturing him will work."

"Are you certain?" asked Damon. "I haven't even made it halfway through my torture techniques yet."

Lucas shook his head, "I don't think it will matter. Caffrey _hates _you, Damon. He'd rather die and keep silence just to spite you."

"Then what do you suggest?" asked Damon angrily. "We need the locket! Without that locket, the chest is useless!" He paused and shook his head, "I've been searching for that chest for too long, Lucas. And after years of searching, I'm so close!" He kicked the wall angrily. "I _will _not let that little bastard stand in the way!"

"I would never suggest such a thing," said Lucas. "But I do think we need to try another method for dealing with the great Neal Caffrey."

"Of course," said Damon. "My stepbrother always had a weak spot for others." He pulled out his phone and dialed. "Jonathon! Find Kate and bring her to me!" He hung up the phone.

"Actually sir, I had a different idea," said Lucas.

"What?" asked Damon. "Did you want to go after? His friend-what's his name? Mozzie? Or that FBI Agent?"

Lucas sighed. "No, I wasn't planning on kidnapping anyone." He pulled out a cell phone. "It's the cell phone I used to text Agent Burke after the hospital."

"You kept the phone?" yelled Damon. "Are you insane, Lucas? The FBI is probably running a trace right now!"

"Relax," said Lucas. "I have the GPS chip disable. Let the FBI try and run a trace, they'll never find it. Besides, I thought it might come in handy later." Lucas pressed the speed dialed. "Listen to this."

Damon listened to the voice message. He smiled.

"It sounds like Agent Burke has a soft spot for Caffrey," said Lucas, smiling. "Tell me Damon, is it kidnapping if the FBI Agent comes running to our front door?"

* * *

Peter collapsed in his desk chair. He ran his hand threw his hair. He looked up at Mozzie.

"Do you have any ideas of what Damon wants?" asked Peter.

Mozzie shook his head. "I have a lot of ideas but that's problem. I have too many ideas. Neal's stolen too many things to narrow it down to one particular item."

"Could it be the music box?" asked Peter. "You know the one-"

"I know which music box you are talking about, yes," said Mozzie. "And no, I don't think so."

"But a lot of people _thought _that Neal has it," argued Peter. "Couldn't it be that Damon thinks Neal has it too?"

"No," said Mozzie. "It's not the music box. Damon is planning the crime of the century, remember?"

"So your information says," said Peter.

"Hey, my information tends to be always right!" argued Mozzie. "No, Damon wouldn't risk coming back to New York for a music box. In fact the more I think about it, the more I don't buy it."

"Buy what?" asked Peter.

"That Damon wants something that Neal _stole,_" said Mozzie.

"Care to exaggerate?" asked Peter.

"Um…" said Mozzie.

Peter sighed, "Look, I don't really care right now about what crimes you or Neal have committed. All I want to do is get Neal back safe and sound. So will you just tell me?"

"You promise not to use this against Neal or myself?" asked Mozzie.

"Fine," said Peter. "I promise."

"When you were closing in," said Mozzie, "Neal hid most of his 'collection'."

"Right," said Peter. "We only got Neal on the bonds, even though we all knew he was responsible for a hell of a lot more."

"The thing is," said Mozzie. "Neal's stash isn't even in New York _State_, much less New York City."

"What's your point?" asked Peter.

"My point," said Mozzie "is that if Damon wanted something that Neal _stole _he wouldn't have to come to New York. He could just go and get it himself. Why does he need Neal?"

"Maybe he needs Neal to tell him where that stash is?" said Peter.

Mozzie shook his head. "No, it's not that simple. Kidnapping Neal under the FBI's nose—well it almost borders on suicide. Damon's risky but he's not stupid. He's not going to take the risk of kidnapping Neal and holding him hostage somewhere if he doesn't have to."

"What are you saying?" asked Peter.

"I don't think Damon wants something that Neal _stole," _said Mozzie."What I do think is that Damon wants something Neal _has_. Something he already owns-something he owned long before he got into white collar crimes."

"Something he inherited," said Peter softly, the revelation dawning on him. "Damon wants something Neal _inherited." _

_

* * *

_

Neal sighed. He was sitting in the dark. He was trying to loosen the knots that tied his hands together. Locks he could pick. _Easily_. But knots—knots were slightly more difficult. Plus having a broken wrist still in a giant cast wasn't really helping either.

The door knob turned. Neal quickly stopped what he was doing and sat up, alert.

He sighed when he saw Damon walk through the door. "Oh it's you," Neal said sadly.

"Who were you expecting?" asked Damon. He smiled, "Agent Burke?"

Neal never batted an eye, "Well he did catch me. _**Twice**_. And you're nowhere near as good as I am, so it's really only a matter of time before Peter comes bursting through the door."

"Oh I'm sure," said Damon smiling.

Neal cursed silently. The fact that Damon didn't at all seem worried about the FBI worried him. That meant that Damon knew something he didn't.

"Last chance, Neal," said Damon. "Tell me where the locket is."

"And you'll what?" asked Neal. "Let me skip out of here with the all the bad blood between us forgotten? I don't think so."

"Is that a no?" asked Damon.

"How about a 'hell no'?" asked Neal. "With an 'over my dead body' thrown in, free of charge."

Damon sighed. "Okay. But remember, I gave you a chance Neal." He drew his gun out with his right hand. In his left hand, he pulled out a cell phone. Neal looked at him confused.

"I gave you a chance, Neal," said Damon as he waited for the other end to connect. "I really did. Everything that happens now…well, that's on you."

* * *

Peter sat his desk, massaging his neck. After talking with Mozzie, he had instructed Jones and Cruz to look through Douglas Caffrey's will to determine if there was anything of value that Neal had been left that might warrant someone to kidnap him.

Peter sighed. He never felt so useless. He knew that everyone was doing their best to find Neal but somehow, it didn't feel like it was enough. Neal already be…

_NO! _thought Peter, _don't even think like that! Neal's still alive…he has to be…_

Mozzie had agreed to go out and try to find out what exactly Damon was trying to steal. "Maybe," Mozzie had argued. "If we knew what Damon is after, we might be able to figure out what he needs from Neal."

Peter agreed with Mozzie's reasoning. He had offered to go with Mozzie but Mozzie had flat out refused. Mozzie's contacts were not exactly upstanding citizens and Mozzie said they would calm up if they say a Fed coming.

Peter called his house to update Elizabeth what was happening. He was surprised when Elizabeth didn't answer but instead the answering machine picked up.

_That's strange, _thought Peter, _she should be home. _

Peter was about to dial her cell phone number when his own cell phone started to ring. He looked down at the caller ID and gasped when he saw what it said.

He quickly stood up, knocking over his chair as he grabbed the phone and opened it.

"Neal! NEAL!"

* * *

Oh no! More cliffie karma!

So, _where_ is the locket? And what is this chest that Damon is after? What's inside the chest? And what in the world is Damon planning? Answers will probably be eventually revealed-within a chapter or two.

I know in my last author's note, I was going to have Elizabeth tell Mozzie and Peter but I decided against that. I decided that Elizabeth should go to June and they search for the locket by themselves while Peter and Mozzie were busy doing their own investigation. Elizabeth will call Peter in the next chapter as the search for the locket continues and then things will become clear in the next chapter, I promise.

Please R&R! I love reviews! They help make a better story! And they make me (and my dog) very happy!


	9. Chapter 9

The Crime of the Century

By RascalFlattsS

Disclaimer: I do not own White Collar.

Spoiler Alerts: Um…at this point, I've pretty much lost count of which episodes from the first season I have talked about. So just assume that there is a spoiler alert for the whole first season. Just to be safe.

Warning: Some swearing in this chapter. Nothing too bad, I promise.

I apologize for any grammatical or spelling errors that occur.

In this chapter, I do refer to another one of my White Collar stories, "A White Collar Valentine." It's not a huge refer and you won't at all be lost if you haven't read it (though please do—it's a cute story!).

* * *

Chapter 9: Found Lockets and More Mysteries….Are You Sure It's Not Tuesday Yet?

"Neal? NEAL!" Peter cried into his phone. "Neal, can you hear me? NEAL!"

"_Neal can't come to the phone right now," _a voice over the phone. "_But don't worry, Agent Burke, he's here." _ There was the sound of something being kicked, followed by wood hitting cement and a soft "ow" in the background.

"NEAL!" shouted Peter. "I swear to God, Damon, if you hurt him—"

"_I know, I know," _said Damon. "_I listened to your message. It seems my stepbrother has made quite an impression on you, Agent Burke."_

"_For the last time," _Neal's voice echoed in the background, "_I AM NOT YOUR BROTHER!"_

"_Shut up Caffrey!" _snapped Damon. There were a few minutes of silence before Damon spoke again, _"Now, where was I?"_

"Hopefully you were about to tell me what the hell you wanted," growled Peter.

"_Oh of course," _said Damon. _"I was hoping to have a little family reunion but Neal isn't be very cooperative."_

"Gee, I wonder why," snapped Peter sarcastically.

"_Did little Neal tell you all about me?" _asked Damon, "_and all the bad things he claimed I did?"_

Peter paused for a moment, thinking on what to say. "No. I have the files. You were a suspected gang member. Douglas Caffrey was killed shortly after a drive-by that almost killed his son, which you were suspected of being a part in. It doesn't take a genius to figure out what happened."

Damon laughed, _"I underestimated you Agent Burke! No wonder you caught Neal. _**_Twice_." **

"Yeah, I'm good," said Peter. "It's only a matter of time, till I catch you as well. So why don't you save us both the trouble and just turn yourself in."

"_Tempting," _said Damon, "_but I'll pass. I have a few things that I have to do-very pressing, can't get out of it. You know how that goes."_

"Oh right," said Peter, "Rumor has it you're about to pull off 'the crime of the century'."

"_Maybe," _said Damon, "_Maybe not." _

"You'll never get away with it," said Peter.

"_We'll see," _said Damon. "_The way I see it, we have two options, Agent Burke. One is we can continue this cat and mouse game where you chase me and I escape, ect, ect. Or we can come to some sort of agreement where we both get what we want."_

"And what is that?" asked Peter.

"_I get to go about my business here in New York," _said Damon, "_and when I have completed my business, you let me leave the country, never to be seen or heard from again." _

"And why would I do that?" asked Peter bitterly.

"_Because in exchange for your cooperation," _said Damon, "_I will give you Neal." _There was a pause, _"That is what you want, Agent Burke?" _

"I can't—" Peter started.

"_What's more important to you, Agent Burke?" _asked Damon. _"Some stupid ridiculous expensive artifact or Neal's life?" _There was a small pause. _"This shouldn't be a hard decision, Agent Burke. Unless you don't care about Neal like I thought. If that's the case," another_ pause, "_I'll just end his miserable life right now." _

Peter heard the sound of a gun being cocked over the phone. Peter felt his heart stop.

"NO!" screamed Peter. "I'll do it! I'll do whatever you want! Just don't shoot him!"

"_So we have a deal then, Agent Burke?" _asked Damon.

"Yes," said Peter. "Yes, we have a deal."

"_Excellent," _said Damon. _"I knew we could be friends. And now that we are friends, I need a favor." _

"Of course you do," said Peter.

"_Now Peter, that's not nice," _said Damon. "_And here I heard from one of our mutual friends that you could get your hands on a certain music box for her. I believe she said it was her price to 'let Neal go'."_

"Kate," breathed Peter.

"_That would be our girl," _said Damon. _"And seeing how as it's for Neal…" _His voice trailed off but Peter knew what Damon meant.

Give me what I want or I'll kill Neal.

Peter took a deep breath, "Okay, fine," he said, "what do you want?"

"_Don't worry, Agent Burke," _said Damon, _"My demands are much lower than Kate's. All I want is a simple little locket." _

"A locket?" repeated Peter.

"_A locket," _said Damon. _"It use to belong to Isabella Caffrey." _

"Neal's mother," breathed Peter.

"_Bingo!" _said Damon. _"Now for some strange reason, Neal isn't being very cooperative and won't tell me where the locket is. All he'll say is that Kate doesn't have it nor is it with the rest of his stash." _

Peter's mind flashed back to the meeting he had with Mozzie. _Guess you were right about that, huh Mozzie._

"_And since it belong to dear old Mommy," _said Damon, _"I'm assuming that the locket is somewhere close." _

"And you think I can get it for you?" asked Peter.

"_That's the idea," _said Damon. _"You get me that locket and I promise, I'll just be a bad memory. If you don't, well…use your imagination."_

Peter simply nodded. He knew what Damon meant: Bring me the locket or Neal's dead.

"_You have three hours," _said Damon. _"Call me when it's done." _

And with that Damon hung up, leaving Peter alone with his thoughts.

* * *

Elizabeth closed the dresser drawer in frustration. "Anything?"

June shook her head, "No."

Elizabeth sighed. She and June had spent the last forty-five minutes search through Neal's apartment searching for the locket. They had started in the bedroom, searching through Neal's clothes and the dresser drawers, in the closet and under the bed. June was searching through Neal's desk while Elizabeth searched his dresser.

She didn't even bother putting the clothes back in the dresser but instead leaving them on the floor. She sighed.

_Oh Neal, _Elizabeth thought, _where did you hide the locket? _

Elizabeth sighed. She made eye contact with June. "Kitchen?"

June nodded and the two made their way into the kitchen and proceeded to rip drawers and cupboards open, continuing their search for the locket.

* * *

Peter sat in his office for a few moments pacing, thinking.

_If I was Neal, _thought Peter, _where would I hide a locket? _

His first guest would have been June's mansion. But Peter quickly brushed that idea aside. While Neal had easy access to the whole mansion, it would be the first place Damon would check. It was too easy of a place for anyone to get into. No, Neal was smarter than that.

_Neal would want some place that he had easy access to, _thought Peter. _Somewhere where he could go without drawing attention. Somewhere secure…_

Peter's second thought was that Neal must have opened up a safety deposit box but he dismissed that idea. _I check Neal's accounts on a regular base; I would have seen a security deposit box…unless he put it under an alias…_

Peter sighed. He debated about calling Jones and Cruz in to help him but he decided against it. He knew that making a deal with Damon was against FBI policy and if he wasn't killed, he would certainly lose his job.

But if he didn't take the deal, Neal would die.

It was one thing to risk his career to save Neal. It was another to ask his team to risk their careers for Neal.

_C'mon Peter think! Neal would want to hide the locket some place that was secure but yet that he had easy access to it and could get to it whenever he wanted…_

Peter immediately thought of Neal's desk. He walked over to the glass wall of his office and looked out. Neal's desk was empty.

_The FBI would be secure, _thought Neal, _and he is here every day…. But I check his desk and if a locket was found in Neal's desk it would look suspicious and Neal knows that….Neal's smarter than that….he would want to hide it somewhere it wouldn't stand out….but where would you hide a locket so it didn't stand out? _

Then suddenly, like a lightning bolt, the answer stuck Peter.

Peter grabbed his keys and his phone and ran out the door, never bothering to alert his team that he was leaving.

Once again, he was struck by Neal Caffrey's genius.

* * *

At an undisclosed, unknown location somewhere in New York City, Mozzie was currently working in his "lab". He was sitting at a small table, with a light overhead, illuminating the piles of papers and countless books spread out across the table with a few ending up on the floor. In the corner of a small table sat a small Dell Notebook with all the websites of New York's biggest museums pulled up.

Mozzie studied the books and the computer. "C'mon. What could Damon possible want to steal? What could be so big that Damon would risk coming back to New York?"

Mozzie sighed. He had talked to a few of his contacts and no one had any clue what Damon wanted to steal. Whatever operation Damon was running, he was keeping a tight lid on it.

Mozzie sighed. He took his glasses off and rubbed his tried eyes.

_C'mon Mozzie! Think! Damon goes after high risk, high reward situation. He loves the valuable and the rare. He likes a challenge. And whatever he wants has multiple pieces…._

Mozzie put his glasses back on and went back to the computer. He clicked a couple of pages before he spotted something.

"Well, this could be something…."

* * *

Elizabeth sighed. She pulled a book off the book shelf. She opened up and flipped through the pages, hoping to find a secret compartment. She sighed, finding nothing, and tossed the book onto the couch. She moved to the next book.

"Find anything yet?" asked June.

Elizabeth shook her head. "Nothing yet." She flipped through the book and sighed. She tossed it on the couch. "That's all the books. What's next?"

June sighed. "I don't think the locket is here in the apartment. We've searched everywhere that I think can think of where Neal could have hidden it."

"And shockingly, that's a lot of places," said Elizabeth. "I think you're right. Where else could it be?"

June shrugged her shoulders. "Neal does have access to the whole house…" her voice trailed off.

Elizabeth sighed, "Shall we?" June nodded and the two women continued their search for the mysterious locket.

* * *

Jones walked back into the conference room carrying two cups of coffee. He handed one cup to Cruz.

Cruz took the cup and took a sip. "Thanks."

Jones nodded and sat back down at the table. "Find anything?"

Cruz shook her head. "Nothing. Douglas Caffrey's will is pretty simple. He left everything to Neal."

"What about his wife?" asked Jones.

Cruz shook her head. "His will doesn't mention Teresa Aguilar or Damon. In fact," Cruz dug through the file. "His will was dated about two weeks before his death. And I found this." She pulled out a piece of paper and handed it to Jones.

Jones skimmed the first line, "Douglas was filing for divorce?"

Cruz nodded, "I guess so. But Douglas died before it could be finalized. But not before he changed his will."

"So what did Neal get when Douglas died?" asked Jones.

"Not much" said Cruz, "because Neal was a minor when his father died and there were no other beneficiaries, the apartment, car and the furniture was sold. All the money left over from expensive was then put into a trust fund for Neal. Douglas' lawyer was named trustee until he sighed over guardianship to Neal's foster parent Lawrence Ramsey."

Cruz sighed, "As far as I can tell, all Neal inherited from his father's death was money. Most everything that Douglas had was sold upon his death, except for a watch, a Swiss Army knife, and some photo albums which Neal kept. But other than that, there's nothing. Except this." She pulled out a piece of paper from the folder and handed it to Jones.

"Right before Douglas died, he hired a private detective," said Cruz, "that's a copy of the check Douglas wrote him."

"It's dated a week before Douglas died," said Jones. "Did you call this Detective Manning?"

Cruz nodded, "Yep. Douglas apparently hired him to follow his stepson. Manning said that Douglas suspected that Damon was involved in something and he wanted to know what." She paused. "he also said he wanted to find out information about his wife's family."

"Teresa's?" asked Jones.

"Not Teresa," said Cruz. "His first wife."

"Neal's mother?" asked Jones. "Why would Douglas want to know that?"

Cruz shrugged. "Douglas added that request the day before he died. Before Manning could launch an investigation, Douglas had died. Manning said he tried talking to Neal but he was too traumatized to be much help. Manning never pursued the case after Douglas died.

"Manning's retired now and living in Miami," continued Cruz. "He said he'd fax over all the files he has and he'd be available for a phone conference in the afternoon."

Jones nodded. "How much do we know about Neal's mother?"

"Not much," said Cruz. She pulled out a folder. "Her name was Isabella Caffrey. She was born in Ithaca, New York on May 18, 1956. Her parents were Martin and Anna Rousseau. She had an older sister, Margaret. Isabella died when Neal was eight, from breast cancer."

Cruz looked over at Jones, "What are you thinking?"

"What if the item Damon is looking for Neal inherited from his mother," said Jones slowly. "I mean, think about it. Isabella died _before _Douglas married Damon's mother and if Neal got anything from his mother, he would have had it when he was living with Damon."

"Which means Damon would know about it," said Cruz. She walked out of the conference down to her desk with Jones at her heels.

She sat at her desk and looked up Isabella Caffrey on her computer. Jones leaned over her shoulder.

"Okay, here's Isabella Caffrey's will," said Cruz. She strolled down the screen. "She left most everything to her husband Douglas and her son Neal. But she did leave about $15,000 to her sister." Cruz read the computer screen, "Huh, that's weird."

"What?" asked Jones.

"The $15,000 was never claimed," said Cruz. "It looks like her sister never took it."

"That's weird," said Jones. "Why wouldn't she take the money? Sounds like they had a falling out."

"Sounds like it," said Cruz, "Listen to this. There's a note in the will. It says, 'To my dear sister, Margaret, I leave $15,000. Please forgive me for the mistakes I made so many years ago.'"

"Sounds like Isabella did something," said Jones, "that Margaret didn't approve of. But what?"

"Let's find out," said Cruz. She searched for Margaret Rousseau. "Aw, looks like she's not Margaret Rousseau anymore."

She clicked on the file. The computer screen popped up and Jones and Cruz gasped.

"Oh my God!" said Cruz. She couldn't believe what she was starring at. "Get Peter down here! NOW!"

* * *

Peter drove as quickly as he dared. He wove in and out of traffic, not really caring how many drivers he pissed off. All he cared about was getting to his destination as quickly as possible.

As Peter drove, his memory drifted…

_It was about two weeks before Valentine's Day. Peter had just gotten home from a basketball game. He walked through the back door to be greeted by __Satchmo. _

"_Hi boy," Peter said, scratching Satchmo's ear. Satchmo walked off into the dining room and Peter followed. He saw Elizabeth sitting on the kitchen, working._

"_Hi honey," said Peter, leaning over to give her a kiss. _

"_Hi," said Elizabeth, "how was the game?"_

"_Good," said Peter. He looked up and saw two coffee cups sitting on the table. "Who's here?" he asked._

"_Neal," said Elizabeth._

"_Neal?" said Peter. "What is Neal doing here?" _

"_I invited him here," said Elizabeth. "There's an event at an art gallery that I'm hosting and I wanted Neal's opinion. He's been very helpful."_

"_Oh I bet," said Peter sarcastically. "He's probably planning his next heist."_

"_Now Peter," warned Elizabeth, "be nice."_

_Peter rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah. Where is the felon?"_

"_Upstairs," said Elizabeth._

"_You let him go upstairs!" exclaimed Peter. He quickly moved down the hall and up the stairs, with Elizabeth following behind him. "He's probably upstairs ,looting through our processions!"_

"_Or he just had to use the bathroom!" said Elizabeth. "Honestly Peter! When are you going to learn to trust him?" _

_Peter and Elizabeth arrived upstairs. Peter marched down the hall until he came to their bedroom. He walked in the door to see Neal standing in front of Elizabeth's dresser._

"_NEAL!" Peter shouted. Neal whipped around, shutting the jewelry box shut. A look of surprise shot across his face but Neal quickly regained his cool._

"_Peter," said Neal, smiling, kicking his charm into full gear. "How was the game?"_

"_What are you doing in here?" demanded Peter. _

"_Would you believe me if I said I got lost on my way to the bathroom?" joked Neal. Peter just glared at him._

"_Neal, what are you doing in here?" asked Elizabeth._

_Neal sighed, "All right! You caught me!"_

"_HA!" said Peter. He turned to his wife, "I told you he'd rob us blind!"_

"_Peter calm down!" scolded Elizabeth. "Give Neal a chance to explain."_

"_Yeah," agreed Neal. "I wasn't to steal anything! Honest!"_

"_Oh really?" said Peter. "Then what are you doing, going through Elizabeth's jewelry box?"_

_Neal sighed, "Well, Elizabeth's birthday is coming up in a few weeks and I wanted to get her a really nice necklace-as you know a thank you for being a really good friend to me. And I was going through your jewelry so I could see what style of jewelry you liked."_

"_Aw," said Elizabeth. She moved forward to hug Neal, "Aw Neal! That is so sweet! But you don't have to get me anything."_

"_I want to," said Neal. He looked at Peter. "And you can check but I didn't take anything. I swear." Neal pulled out his pants pockets inside out, "See?" _

"_El, check your jewelry box," said Peter. Elizabeth rolled her eyes but walked over to her jewelry box. She opened and looked inside._

"_Everything is here," said Elizabeth. She closed the lid and walked back over to Peter. "I think you owe Neal an apology, honey."_

"_I'm sorry Neal," said Peter._

"_That's okay," said Neal. "Now, Lizzie, let's get back to planning the party." _

_Elizabeth punched him as he walked by, "I told you not to call me Lizzie!" _

_Neal rolled his eyes, "Whatever Lizzie." _

_A few weeks later, Peter had been caught up and catching an art theft and had completely forgotten about Valentine's Day. Fortunately Neal hadn't and with Jones' and Cruz's help, he had planned a romantic Valentine's Day for Peter and Elizabeth, including a beautiful diamond necklace that Elizabeth simply loved. Then a month later for her birthday, Neal brought Elizabeth a matching bracelet._

Peter snapped out of his daydream as he pulled up in front his house. He parked the car. He jumped out and ran up the stairs. He pulled out his keys and jammed them in the lock, unlocking the front door.

Peter was surprised to find the house dark. He flipped on the light switch and Satchmo came running towards him.

"Hi boy," Peter said giving him a quick pet. He then quickly bolted up the steps with Satchmo following behind him.

All those months ago, when he caught Neal digging through Elizabeth's jewelry box, it had never accorded to Peter to check for _additional _jewelry. He was too busy focusing on what might be missing to notice what might have been added.

Peter had to give Neal credit. It was a great idea, hiding the locket in Elizabeth's jewelry. Neal was always at Peter's house working on cases, visiting Elizabeth and Satchmo or just hanging out so he would always have access. And because it was Peter's house, it was secure with extra locks and a security system. Plus no one would ever dream to search _his _house for something of Neal's. And in Elizabeth's jewelry box, one locket wouldn't stand out against the many necklaces that Elizabeth owned.

Peter walked into their bedroom. He walked over to Elizabeth's dresser. He picked up the jewelry box and walked over to the bed. He sat down. He carefully opened the box.

Music began to play as he lifted the lid. Peter carefully moved through the multiple necklaces, bracelets, rings and earrings. He carefully scooped them up and sent them on the nightstand out of reach of the dog.

At the bottom of the box, Peter found what he was looking for. It was an old sliver heart-shaped locket. It was medium size locket. Peter picked it up and held it up. He was surprised by how heavy it was. He could see the small designs engraved into the locket. It was a very beautiful locket.

_This looks familiar…._thought Peter softly. _I feel like I've seen this before….but I don't think I've ever seen El wear it and I doubt Neal's ever worn it…._

Peter shook his head but he could shake the feeling that he had seen it before. He opened the locket. Inside the glass frames, were two black and white pictures of a baby-which Peter could only assume where pictures of Neal.

Peter pulled out his cell phone and dialed the number. He only waited two rings before Damon picked up.

"I have your locket," said Peter, starring at the locket in his hand. "Now where the hell is Neal?"

* * *

Hopefully that was too horrible of a cliff hanger for you guys.

Tim DeKay was born in Ithaca, New York so thank you to IMDB for that information. Little trivia for you all thrown in there.

Please R&R!


	10. Chapter 10

The Crime of the Century

By RascalFlattsS

Disclaimer: See previous nine chapters.

Warnings: Some swearing and violence. Nothing too horrible or gross, I promise.

Any errors-grammatical and spelling-are mine.

So enjoy this chapter and more of your questions will be answered! Like what does Isabella Caffrey's sister is involved and the connection to Peter—it's so much fun! Enjoy!

** New Note: 9/6/10—Hi. After reading all the reviews and doing some proof reading, I decided to edit this chapter. I removed one section with Cruz and Jones talking that I thought was a little too confusing. Let me know what you guys think.

* * *

Chapter 10: A Whole Chapter of Cliff Hangers…I Hope You Have Good Climbing Equipment

"I have your locket," said Peter coldly. "Now where the hell is Neal?"

"_Bravo Agent Burke!" _said Damon. _"I knew that you could do it! And with two hours to spare! You missed your calling, Agent."_

"Yeah, well," said Peter sarcastically, "I missed career day at school."

"_Pity," _said Damon. _"I never did very well at school. That's why I do what I do and you do what you do."_

"Congrats," said Peter bitterly. "Now where's Neal?"

"_Relax Agent, he's still here," _said Damon.

"Let me talk to him," demanded Peter, his voice catching.

"_Neal can't talk right now," _said Damon.

"You son of a bitch!" cursed Peter. "I swear to God if you—"

"_Relax," _said Damon, _"Neal's fine, I promise. He was just blabbering on and on and was annoying me to death—just like when we were kids. So I slapped some duct tape over his mouth. But I assure you Agent Burke, Neal's fine." _

Peter breathed a sigh of relief. "All right, Damon. I have your locket. I have held up my end of the bargain."

"_Yes you have_," said Damon. "_And you have done a marvelous job, Agent Burke. And I suppose you want to get Neal back, huh?"_

"That would be nice," said Peter shortly.

"_Very well," _said Damon_. "Meet me down at the pier in one hour. You know the drill-come alone. If I so much as even think I see another FBI Agent, well…You get the idea."_

Damon hung up. Peter looked down at the phone and sighed. He looked at Satchmo, who was looking up at him expectantly.

Peter shook his head. He gave Satchmo a quick scratch behind the ear. "El's going to be pretty pissed, at me, huh boy?"

Satchmo just concerned to stare at him. Peter chuckled, "Yeah, that's what I thought."

* * *

Damon hung up the phone. He smiled and turned around to face Neal.

Neal was still tied to the chair. His hands were tied behind his back. He was sporting multiple bruises and cuts on his face where Damon had punched. Damon had placed a piece of duct tape over Neal's mouth, effectively gagging him. At the moment, Neal could do nothing but glare evilly at Damon.

"Now that I'm done," Damon said. He walked over and ripped off the duct tape.

"OW!" said Neal. "That hurt! How about a little warning next time, huh?"

"Oh Neal," said Damon. "There's no need to be mad. This is almost over. Your FBI friend found your precious locket."

Neal's eyes widened in surprise. _What? _Though Neal, _How? I had the perfect hiding spot for it! No one was suppose to find it! _

But granted, Peter was smarter that anyone Neal had ever meet (hell, Peter was almost as smart as him!) Not to mention, Peter had caught Neal putting the locket in Elizabeth's jewelry box. So it made sense that Peter would be the one who found the locket.

"Seems like you didn't have a good enough hiding spot," Damon said. He walked over towards Neal. He stood in front of Neal and he patted his cheek. Neal cringed.

"Don't touch me," snarled Neal.

"Oh relax Neal," said Damon. "It's almost over. Agent Burke was so kind enough to not only find your locket but he's going to bring it to me in about-"Damon looked at his watch-"in about 50 minutes. Isn't that sweet? Your friend must really care for you."

"I told you," said Neal, "Peter is going to kick your ass."

"Is that so?" asked Damon. He turned around to face Lucas, "Get your men ready. Be ready to grab Agent Burke." Lucas nodded and went to turn. "And Lucas?" Lucas paused and turned back to face Damon, waiting. "Bring Agent Burke alive and relatively unharmed."

Lucas nodded, "Of course." He walked out of the room. Damon turned back to Neal, who had a confused look on his face.

"I thought since you weren't enjoying our little family reunion," said Damon. "I would arrange another one for you. Agent Burke is going to be joining you here Neal, until I have finished my business here in New York." Damon leaned forward resting his hands on the arms of the chair so he and Neal were face-to-face. "Then once I'm on my way out of the country, my men will dump you and Agent Burke into the Hudson." He smiled, "Just like I did with your dear old Dad."

"NO!" Neal screamed. He struggled against his bonds.

Damon looked at him, with a raised eyebrow. "What's this? A change of heart?"

"Do whatever you want to me," begged Neal. "But please leave Peter out of this. He has nothing to do with this. This is between you and me. Please just leave him alone."

Damon sighed, "I can't do that Neal."

"Yes you can," said Neal desperately. "I'll do whatever you want. I'll give you anything you want. Just leave Peter alone."

"It's too late for that," said Damon. "Agent Burke is already on his way to meet me."

"He won't come," said Neal. Even as he said it, he didn't believe it. "Peter's not stupid. He won't go alone. He'll bring the whole FBI with him and he'll catch you."

"You better hopes he comes," said Damon. "Or you're dead."

"Oh c'mon Damon," said Neal. "We both know I was never walking out here alive."

"Fine," said Damon. "If your FBI friend is stupid enough to bring back up, I guess I'll just have to shoot him."

"NO!" screamed Neal. He struggled harder. "No! Don't kill Peter! Kill me instead! _Please _Damon, leave Peter alone!"

Damon pulled a taser out his pocket and stuck it against Neal's thigh. He pressed the button. Neal cried out in pain. It finally became too much for Neal to bear and he slumped forward, unconsciousness.

Damon smiled, "Be careful what you wish for, Neal."

* * *

-Elizabeth sighed. She and June had just finished searching the downstairs for the missing locket. They had searched the kitchen, the living room, the pallor, the dining room and two bathrooms. They had torn the lower level of June's mansion apart and they still hadn't found the locket.

"I'm beginning to think that the locket isn't here," said Elizabeth sadly.

June heard the despair in her voice. June walked over to Elizabeth and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry, dear. We'll find it. We still have to search the second floor." June moved out of the dining room and started to climb the stairs. Elizabeth followed.

"What are you talking about?" asked Elizabeth. "We already searched Neal's apartment."

"We already searched _Neal's apartment_," emphasized June. "But we have yet to search my room or the guest rooms."

Elizabeth paused, "You really think that Neal would hide the locket there?"

June shrugged, "It's not my first guess, since we have eliminated the other possibilities…" June's voice trailed off. "Besides, we have to think like Neal. He knows that the first place someone would search-"

"Neal's apartment," finished Elizabeth. "But they might not think to search your apartment!"

June nodded. She continued to climb up the stairs and then moved down the hall, with Elizabeth on her heels.

"We should try to think of others places that Neal might use," said Elizabeth. "Let's see…there's his friend Moz…maybe his place….then there's the FBI office…" Her voice trailed off. She tried to think like her husband who knew Neal Caffrey inside out.

_If Peter was here, _thought Elizabeth _he would know exactly where to look for the locket…he knows Neal better than anyone…he could figure this out._

June and Elizabeth arrived at the end of the hall. She grabbed the door handle and turned the handle, walking into the room. Elizabeth followed and gasped.

"Is this your bedroom?" she asked in awe.

"Yes," said June. She walked over to her dresser.

"It's beautiful," said Elizabeth, looking around the room. She looked up at June, "What are you doing?"

"I thought I'd check my jewelry box first," said June, "before we start our search. It would be a good place to hide a locket, don't you think?" June paused and looked over at Elizabeth. "Elizabeth? What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost. Elizabeth?"

Elizabeth felt her breath catch in her chest as the realization hit her like a ton of bricks. The memory came flooding back to her:

_Neal in their bedroom, standing in front of her dresser with the jewelry box lid open…he quickly snapped the lid shut…the look of surprise in his eyes—not fear nor guilt—just pure surprise at being caught…_

"Damn it!" Elizabeth cursed. She sits down on June's bed. "Damn it!"

"Elizabeth!" exclaimed June. She rushed over to Elizabeth, "What is it? What's wrong?"

Elizabeth looks up at June. "C'mon," she says as she grabs June's hand and pulls her downstairs.

"Elizabeth!" said June. "What is wrong? We haven't finished searching-"

"I know where the locket is," said Elizabeth.

June stopped shocked. "You do?" asked June. "Where is it?"

"My house," said Elizabeth, "sitting in my own jewelry box."

* * *

Cruz stepped out of the car. She paused and waited for Jones to get out of the car as well before climbing up the walk to the house.

"Do we really have to do this?" asked Cruz.

Jones glared at Cruz. After discovering the link to Margaret Rousseau, they had found that Peter was not in his office. Jones and Cruz had looked all over the White Collar unit (abet not very hard to avoid raising suspicion) with no luck. They had also left five voicemails on Peter's phone; all of which had gone unanswered.

Jones had hoped that Peter had gone home to get some much needed sleep and was simply sleeping through the ringing of phone or left it on silent. Cruz wanted to go to Peter's home and just check to make sure or alert Hughes. Jones argued that they shouldn't wake Peter from the much need sleep. And that he and Cruz didn't need permission from either Peter or Hughes to simply talk to a witness.

"Do we really need to talk to this woman?" asked Cruz. "Goodness knows how much pain we are going to cause this woman, forcing her to relive painful memories—memories that she probably hasn't talked about in twenty years."

"I wish there was some other way," said Jones. "But we have to know the truth. And this is the only way."

"This is a wild goose chase," said Cruz as she pressed the doorbell.

"Maybe," said Jones. "But an FBI consultant is missing. She might know something that could help us find Neal—and maybe Peter. We have to talk to her."

The door opened and a woman in her late sixties appeared. Her short gray hair was specked with streaks of dark brown hair. Behind her glasses was a pair of clear deep blue eyes. Jones and Cruz were taken aback for a moment as they only seen one other person with such deep blue eyes like that: Neal Caffrey.

"Hello?" asked Margaret Burke. "Can I help you?"

"Yes," said Jones. "I'm Agent Clinton Jones and this is Agent Lauren Cruz. We're with the FBI. May we come in?"

"Of course," said Margaret. She held open the door for them. "Yes, please come in." She walked into the living room and Cruz and Jones followed.

As they walked into the living room, Jones saw a picture of Peter and Elizabeth Burke on their wedding day, sitting on one of the end tables. Jones nudged Cruz and she nodded—she had seen the picture too.

Margaret sat down on in recliner while Jones and Cruz sat down on the couch.

Before either of them could speak, Margaret interrupted. "Is Peter all right?" she asked, her voice laced with concern and fear.

"Peter's fine," said Jones.

_So we hope _thought Cruz.

Margaret let out a sigh of relief, "Thank God," she breathed. She looked at them puzzled, "So why are you here?"

"We are actually here about your sister," said Jones. "Isabella Caffrey."

Margaret stiffened. "Bella's also been dead for almost twenty years now." She looked at them suspiciously. "Why is the FBI investigating this? Bella died of breast cancer."

"In the course of another investigation," said Jones, "we came across Isabella Caffrey's will. She left you $15,000 that you never claimed. And we'd like to know why."

"Bella and I had a falling out," said Margaret. "We hadn't spoken in eighteen years."

"If I may ask," asked Cruz, "what caused the falling out?"

Margaret studied the agents for a moment before answering, "It was about her son."

"Neal?" asked Cruz. "Why would you and your sister fight about Neal?"

"Who?" asked Margaret.

"Neal Caffrey," explained Jones. "He's a consultant and works with us solving white collar crimes. He actually works with your son quite a bit."

"We work with your son as well," said Cruz. "Peter's our boss. And Neal is…well, he's actually Peter's partner."

"Oh dear," sighed Margaret. "I'm afraid you've made a mistake."

Jones and Cruz looked at each other confused.

"Are you saying that Isabella Caffrey isn't your sister?" asked Jones.

"No Bella's my sister," said Margaret. "Your mistake is about Peter."

"Peter?" repeated Cruz.

Margaret nodded. "Peter isn't my son. He's my nephew." She took a deep breath. "Peter is Isabella's son-her first born son. _Peter_ is the reason Bella and I stopped talking so many years ago."

"Come again?" asked Jones.

"No," said Cruz. "That can't be—that's not right. Because if Peter is Isabella's son then that means…" Her voice trailed off.

Margaret nodded. "That's right. Your boss, FBI Agent Peter Burke and his partner Neal Caffrey are brothers."

* * *

Peter glanced down at his watch. He sighed. Damon still had five minutes left to show up and hopefully, with Neal.

Peter began to pace along the pier. He had a bad feeling about this. All the years of FBI training and cop instinct were screaming at him. But yet, there was a stronger instinct—a brotherly instinct—that was louder than the agent. Peter had to come. Even though it was against every single FBI policy _ever _written, he just had to come.

_Neal's my responsibility…I promised him that everything was going to be okay…I told him I could protect him…I __**have **__to get Neal back…if anything happens to him, it will be all my fault…._

Peter's thoughts were interrupted by movement on the other end of the pier. Peter quickly pulled out his weapon, holding his gun in one hand and the flashlight in the other.

"At ease Agent Burke," said Damon.

Peter looked around for another figure. He was disjointed when he could not see one.

"Where's Neal?" Peter demanded.

"Lower your weapon," said Damon causally.

"No," said Peter. "Not until I see Neal. Now, _where is he?_"

Damon sighed. "I am unarmed Agent Burke. I simply want to talk. You don't need your gun for that."

Peter made no move to lower his gun. "Where's Neal?"

"A one track mind," mumbled Damon. "Just like someone else I know." He shook his head. "Neal will be along shortly. I had to scout area ahead of time, to make sure that you came alone, which you did." He paused, "I am also alone, Agent Burke and unarmed. You have the upper hand here. So please lower your weapon and let us talk like gentlemen."

Peter scoffed. "I don't think you know the meaning of the word," he said.

Damon's eyes narrowed, "If I have to ask you again, you will be getting Neal back in pieces!" Damon growled, his black eyes burning.

"Okay!" said Peter. He lowered his gun down to his side. He did not however loosen his grip on his gun nor did he hostler it.

Damon smiled, "See what a little civility can do? Now Agent Burke, if you please. Where's my locket?"

Still holding the flashlight with one hand, Peter reached up to the neckline of his shirt. He grabbed the chain with one finger and gently pulled it; bring the locket up from under his dress shirt. He let the necklace fall and land lightly on top of his tie.

Damon eyed the necklace hungrily. "Give me the locket."

Peter shook his head, "No. Not till I see Neal. I get Neal and you get your locket. That's the deal."

"I told you," said Damon, "my men are bringing Neal shortly."

"And I told you," said Peter, "I'm not give you the locket until I get Neal." He took a step backwards.

Damon took a step forward. Peter raised his gun and held it level, pointing it at Damon's chest. "Don't," warned Peter.

Damon stopped. He raised his hands up in the air. "You aren't going to shoot me, are you Agent Burke?"

Peter tightened his grip on the gun, "Give me a reason not to," he said softly.

"If you kill me," said Damon, "you'll never see your pet convict again."

"Don't call him that!" yelled Peter.

Damon smiled, "Touched a nerve didn't I?" He laughed. "Do you know why I asked you to meet me here, Agent?"

"Because all you bad guys like to meet in dark, creepy places?" asked Peter.

Damon thought for a moment, "True. However, I asked you to meet me here for a different reason. Fourteen years ago, I was hiding out here after a nasty shooting." He smiled. "You know which one I am talking about—the one where my fourteen-year-old stepbrother got shot."

"You sick son of a—" Peter started to say but Damon interrupted him.

"I was here all alone," continued Damon, "when my stepfather showed up. He was livid. The hospital had called him when Neal came in with a GSW. The doctor gave Neal a shot of penicillin." He paused and smiled, "Did you know that Neal is allergic to penicillin? Douglas told me that night but I completely forgot about it…until Kate refreshed my memory a few weeks ago.

"Douglas screamed at me; how I almost killed his precious son," Damon spat as if the words sickened him. "He said he knew what I was and the crimes I had committed; how he was going to divorce my mother and leave her with nothing. He told me that if I ever came near Neal again, he'd kill me." Damon paused. "That's the last thing my stepfather said before I killed him."

Peter starred at him horrified. Had Damon just done what he thought he had done? Had Damon just confused to killing his stepfather—_Neal's father?_

"Do you know how long I've been searching for that locket?" asked Damon. "Seven years. Seven long years. It was five years ago that I realized the locket I had been searching for—my _own stepbrother_ " He spat out the last two words as if they poisoned him "-had the locket all along! How many times had I seen him fiddle with it while my mother was married to Douglas?" He kicked the ground. "It was in reach and I never realized it.

"But the time I realized that Neal had the locket," said Damon, "You had already caught him and thrown him in jail! I searched for years looking for Neal's stash—searching every place that he ever lived, visited or robbed."

"That must have been a very long list," said Peter.

"It was," said Damon. "I finally conceded that I wasn't going to find the locket without Neal. So I waited for him to get out of prison. But the idiot had to go and break out of prison!" He looked up at Peter. "Are you aware, Agent Burke, that if you had arrived at that apartment five minutes later, you would have never found Neal Caffrey." He smiled. "At least, not alive anyway."

"What?" whispered Peter, the horror and fear creeping into his voice.

"My men and I were ready to move on the apartment," said Damon, "and take Neal. Only you got to him first. He was back in your custody and untouchable once again.

"Once I realized that the idiot had added another four years to his sentence," continued Damon, "I was livid. So I followed Kate out to San Diego in hopes that maybe she would lead me to the locket." He laughed, "I showed her a picture of the locket and she didn't even recognize it! Guess Neal didn't love her as much as he claims." He sighed. "Aw well, she was useful in many other ways."

Damon laughed, "I was about to give all hope of ever finding that locket but then I heard about your deal with Neal and how he was out of prison—all because of you." He emphasized the last part. "Finally after four years of waiting and protection, Neal Caffrey was at my mercy. And perfect timing too!"

"What are you talking about?" asked Peter. "What's so important about this locket?"

"That locket is the key," said Damon, "to one of the greatest treasures lost to history: a chest that belonged to King Richard of England. And that chest is currently in New York, just waiting for me to steal it. This right here-"Damon waved his hands around him, "this is my destiny!"

He turned back to Peter, his black eyes burning. "And I'm about to let you or Neal Caffrey stand in my way," he said coldly.

Damon looked up at something behind Peter. Peter started to turn but it was too late. Peter felt the taser touch him in the neck and felt the pain flood through him and then nothing.

Damon watched as Peter fell forward unconscious onto the pier. He looked up at Lucas. "Took you long enough. I had to use the bad guy rant! You know how I hate that!"

"I'm sorry, sir," said Lucas, "but you did a marvelous job distracting him."

Damon laughed, "You should have seen the look on his face when he realized how close we were to killing Caffrey eight months ago."

Damon bent down and picked up Peter's gun and stowed it in his coat. He then grabbed the chain and pulled. The chain broke and Damon held the broken necklace in his hand.

"Finally," breathed Damon. "After all these years of searching, it's finally mine!" He laughed.

Damon looked down at Peter's unconscious form. "I am a man of my word, Agent Burke," he said softly. "But I never told you that I was going to release Neal—I just said I'd give him to you." He laughed, "Don't worry Agent Burke. You'll be reunited with your precious convict soon enough."

* * *

I know, I know—I'm horrible! I know that this story has been filled with cliff hangers. I tried to write this chapter without any-I really did. And somehow I ended up with five of them! (Don't ask me how that happened because I honestly have no idea. My dog is looking at me suspicious…he may have had something to do with it...or he may just want my cookie…. ;-)

Hoped you enjoyed the Peter Whumpage in this chapter—can't let Neal have all the fun, now can we?

And don't worry about Damon—he'll get his in the end.

Next chapter: find out what the chest is, its importance, what's inside and where it is.

Please, please review. They make me so happy!


	11. Chapter 11

The Crime of the Century

By RascalFlattsS

Disclaimer: Still do not own.

Warnings: Some minor swearing. Nothing too bad, I promise.

Spoilers: Little baby spoilers for "Hard Sell" and other episodes from Season 1. Nothing from Season 2, I promise.

Thank you all so much for your reviews! I do read them all—and not only do they make me VERY happy—but they also help me write better chapters. So thank you guys so much!

P.S. I couldn't think of a good title for this chapter- so if anyone has any better ideas, please let me know.

Also any grammatical errors are my own. Caused by lack of coffee. And the fact that's it 1:30 am. But mostly the coffee.

* * *

Chapter 11: Old Photographs, King's Chest, Lockets and Neal Caffrey's Resume

"FBI Agent Peter Burke and Neal Caffrey are brothers."

Cruz and Jones looked at each other, a mixture of shock and disbelief written all over their faces.

"Are you sure about that?" asked Jones.

Margaret raised her eyebrow. "Of course I'm sure!"

Cruz and Jones looked at each other puzzled. "Well," said Cruz uncertainly. "They don't exactly look alike."

Margaret sighed softly. She got up and walked over to the fireplace. She picked up an old picture frame and handed it to Cruz. It was a picture of two young teenage girls.

"That's me and Bella," said Margaret. "That photo was taken right before."

"Before what?" asked Cruz softly.

"Before Bella got pregnant," Margaret said. "Bella had just turned seventeen. She met this boy at school-Ricky. That boy was nothing but trouble and he got my sister into trouble with him. Our parents forbid her to see him but she continued to see him anyway. A few months later, she was pregnant."

"What happened to Ricky?" asked Cruz.

Margaret shrugged. "Who knows? He bailed when Bella told him. He was two years older than Bella and I guess he didn't want to be tied down. He's never been part of Peter's life.

"About a year after Peter was born, Bella and I had a fight," continued Margaret. "She wanted to get a job in the city and I wanted her to go back to school. In the end, I convinced her that going back to school was her best option." She paused. "A couple weeks later, she asked me to babysit Peter while she went to orientation. I agreed and Bella promised she'd be back by ten."

"What happened?" asked Jones.

"She never came back," said Margaret sadly. "When we realized that she had never come home, we called the police. They found no evidence of foul play and because Bella was an adult, there was nothing we could do. We tried everything-even hired a private investigator. But we could not find her. It was like she had just vanished."

"I was five years older than Bella," continued Margaret, "Jon and I had just gotten married. We brought this house. Jon had started his job as a prosecutor in the DA's office and I had just gotten a job as a teacher. Since Bella had left Peter with us, we got temporary guardianship. When Bella didn't return in a year, the court award us full custody of Peter and allowed us to adopt him.

"I didn't hear from her for two years later until our mother died. Our father had died several years before. Bella leaving just broke her heart. She adored Bella. She even gave Bella the family locket." Margaret paused, "She was here for the hour of the funeral and then she was gone again. She never even came to see me. She stood in the back and left as soon as the funeral was over. I only found out about her being there because Jon's sister Laura saw her."

"When was the next time you saw your sister?" asked Jones.

"About thirty years ago," said Margaret. "She had just gotten married to an accountant. She claimed she had turned her life around. She said how sorry she was for leaving." She took a deep breath, "And she wanted Peter back."

"What did you do?" asked Jones.

"I told her to get out of my house!" said Margaret. "I told her I wanted nothing to do with her! She had left me alone to deal with the death of our mother! She left her son! _She left us_!" She angrily brushed the tears out her eyes. "I wanted us to be a family. But that dream ended when Bella walked out on us. _**Twice**_. She caused me-and my family-a lot of pain. I wasn't about to let her cause any more.

"Bella tried to apologize but I wouldn't listen," continued Margaret. "I told her to get out and never to come near us again. Two years later she sent me a birth announcement for her son, Neal. She also sent me a picture of her and her new husband and baby. Bella had her perfect family—and we weren't a part of it."

"Is that why you didn't take the insurance money?" asked Jones.

Margaret nodded. "She tried sending letters over the years but I never opened them. I did not want anything to do with her. Not after what she had done."

"You mentioned something about a locket," said Cruz softly. Jones raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

Margaret nodded. She handed the picture to Cruz. Cruz looked at it and sighed. Around Isabella Caffrey's neckline was a silver heart-shaped locket.

Jones saw it too, and his eyes widen in recognition. "You said this was your mother's locket?" Jones asked. Margaret nodded. "Is this a family heirloom?"

Margaret nodded. "Yes. It's been in my family for generations." She smiled. "My grandmother, Emily, was wearing that locket when she came to America in 1912," She paused, "On the Titanic."

Cruz felt her jaw drop. She exchanged a quick look with Jones. "Is the locket worth a lot of money?"

Margaret shook her head, "God no! It's just a locket. _A regular locket_. It might be worth a little bit for historic value but certainly not what you're thinking."

_It's certainly worth a lot more than that, _thought Cruz, _since Damon seems to be going through a lot of trouble to get that locket…_

"One more question," asked Jones. "Upon your sister's death, was the locket returned to you?"

Margaret shook her head, "No."

"Do you know what happened to it?" asked Jones.

"I assume that it went to either her husband or son," said Margaret.

Jackpot

* * *

Peter groaned. The pain in his head intensified as he struggled to lift his head up off his chest. He tried to bring his hands forward but found that they were secured tightly behind his back.

"What the hell?" Peter mumbled. He opened his eyes and winced as the sudden light made his headache increase even more. He closed his eyes again.

"Oh look. The Fed's awake."

Peter immediately recognized the voice. His eyes snapped open and he saw Damon standing in front of him. Peter looked around the room, praying that he would see Neal. His heart dropped when he did not see him.

"Where's Neal?" demanded Peter.

"My stepbrother?" asked Damon.

"DON'T CALL HIM _THAT?" _yelled Peter.

"Creepy," said Lucas. He walked into the room and stood next to Damon. "They even sound alike."

"Well you know what they say about married couples," said Damon. "I guess the same is true for FBI Agents and their pet convicts."

"Where's Neal?" demanded Peter. He tried to keep the worry out of his voice but it crept in anyway. And Damon heard it.

"Oh isn't that sweet?" He walked forward and patted Peter's cheek. "Agent Burke is worried about Neal Caffrey, aren't we?"

Peter ignored the question. "You told me if I brought you the locket, you'd take me to Neal. I upheld my end of the bargain. Now, it's your turn."

"Touché," said Damon. He snapped his fingers and two goons arrived from the other room. They walked over to Peter and each man grabbed an arm, lifting Peter up out of the chair.

Damon leaned forward so that he and Peter were only a few inches apart, "You'll find that Agent Burke, I am a man of my word." He stepped back and spoke to the two men. "Take Agent Burke to go see Caffrey."

The two men nodded. They dragged Peter out of the room and down a long dark hallway. After a few minutes, they arrived at a large steel door, with a number of locks on it. The one man held to Peter while the other unlocked the several locks.

As the first man opened the door, the second man unlocked the handcuffs. Before Peter could bring his hands around, the man had dragged Peter forward and tossed him into the room. Peter landed hard face first on the floor.

"Have fun."

Peter groaned. He heard the multiple locks click back into place. He slowly lifted himself up onto his elbows, feeling the multiple bruises already forming.

He lifted his head up and gasped at the figure before him.

"Oh my God! _Neal!_"

* * *

"You wanted to see me?"

Damon looked up and smiled, "Aw yes, Kate. Come in."

Kate nodded and walked into the room. "What can I help you with?"

"I originally called you to ask for your help in breaking Neal Caffrey," said Damon, "and getting him to reveal the location of the locket. However, thanks to Lucas-" a quick nod to Lucas-"I have managed to retrieve the locket." He held out for Kate to see.

Damon watched as what he saw was a look of surprise and disappointment cross her delicate features. However it was gone so fast that Damon thought he imaged it.

"Excellent," said Kate. She smiled, "I knew you could do it! But tell me, how did you get Neal to tell you?"

"I didn't," said Damon simply.

"Then how did you find the locket?" asked Kate, confused.

"Agent Burke brought it to me," said Damon.

"And how did you convince Agent Burke to do that?" asked Kate.

Damon shrugged. "I guess Burke has a soft spot for Caffrey."

"So you released Neal in exchange for the locket?" Kate asked, a little bit of hope and concern leaking into her voice.

Damon laughed. "Of course not! Do you really think that I would be that stupid!" Damon shook his head. "Don't worry your pretty little head off, my dear. Neal Caffrey and Peter Burke are staying right here till I get my treasure chest."

Damon took the locket and set it on the table. He opened it up, revealing the two pictures. "Aw, cute. Baby pictures of Caffrey. Lucas, grab me a screwdriver."

Lucas nodded and handed Damon a small screwdriver. Using the small screwdriver, he carefully pried the one glass frame off. It popped out, revealing a small sliver key.

Damon smiled, pulling out the small key. He turned and looked at Kate and Lucas.

"Are you two ready to start the greatest crime of the century?"

* * *

Elizabeth did not speak the whole drive. Instead she kept going over and over in her head on where she went wrong. How could she have overlooked such an _obvious_ hiding spot? How much time had she wasted? Was it already too late?

June reached over and patted Elizabeth's hand. "Don't worry, Elizabeth. Neal's strong. He's going to be fine. We're going to find that locket and get Neal back." Elizabeth nodded.

The driver stopped in front of the Burkes' home. As soon as the car was in park, Elizabeth was out of the car and running up the steps, with June in toe.

Elizabeth pulled out her keys and tried to shove them in the lock. Her hands shook so from nerves that the keys fell to the ground.

June smiled softly. She picked up the keys, "Let me."

Elizabeth nodded. "Thank you." June nodded. She inserted the key into the door. The lock clicked and June pushed the door open.

The two women stepped inside the house. Elizabeth flipped on the light switch. Satchmo looked up from his spot in the chair. He got up slowly stretching, walking over and wagging his tail.

June bent down to pet him. "Some guard dog," she said clucking. "He doesn't seem to have a killer instinct."

"That's odd," said Elizabeth. She bent down to pet Satchmo. "He's usually waiting at the door when he hears the keys."

June stood up, "You don't think that someone is here, do you?"

Elizabeth shook her head, "No. If they were, they would have come and investigated by now. Besides, Satch would not be so calm if there was a stranger in the house."

June nodded, patting Satchmo on the head.

Elizabeth turned and walked up the stairs.

June turned to Satchmo, "Should we follow?" Satchmo turned and follow Elizabeth up the stairs. June sighed. "I'll take that as a yes."

Elizabeth didn't even hear June or Satchmo follow up the stairs behind her. She turned and walked into her bedroom, flipping on the light switch.

"No!"

June hurried up the stairs behind her. "What is it?" June asked.

"My jewelry," said Elizabeth softly. She walked over to the nightstand where all her jewelry laid. Next to her jewelry was the empty jewelry.

"The locket's gone," said Elizabeth sadly. She sat down on the bed.

"Do you think Damon got here first?" asked June.

Elizabeth shook her head. She picked up the cell phone sitting behind the jewelry box.

"_Peter _was here," Elizabeth said sadly as realization set in. "_Peter _found the locket and _Peter _went to meet Damon and bargain for Neal's freedom."

* * *

"This is it! This is it!" Mozzie exclaimed. "I found it! I found it!"

Mozzie gathered up all his information and quickly dialed his phone. He heard the phone pick up and started talking immediately. "Hey Suit. I got it! I know what Damon is after!"

"_Mozzie?" _

Mozzie paused confused, "Mrs. Suit? What are you doing answering the Suit's phone?"

"_Peter left his phone here at the house," _said Elizabeth.

Mozzie could hear the worry in her voice. "What's wrong?"

"_Peter found the locket," _said Elizabeth.

"What locket?" asked Mozzie, even more puzzled.

"_Neal's locket," _said Elizabeth.

"Neal doesn't have a locket," said Mozzie quickly.

"_It belonged to his mother," _said Elizabeth. "_Neal must have inherited when she died."_

Mozzie's eyes widened in horror. "Oh my…" He quickly pulled up the files on the computer. "El, this really important. Was there anything in the locket?"

"_Mozzie-" _

"Was there anything in the locket?" yelled Mozzie.

"I don't know!" cried Elizabeth. "I only saw it once!"

Mozzie sighed, rubbing his hand over his face. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to yell."

"_Mozzie, what's going on?" _asked Elizabeth. _"Why does Damon want the locket?"_

"I think I might know," said Mozzie. He pulled up a picture of the chest belonging to King Richard.

"_What is going on?" _asked Elizabeth. "_Neal and Peter are missing, Mozzie! I need to know what's going on!"_

"Just hang a second," said Mozzie. He clicked on the picture to enlarge it. "Wait—the Suit's missing? How? When?"

"_I don't know!" _said Elizabeth. _"I think somehow Damon contacted Peter and demanded the locket and exchanged it for Neal. Peter must have found it and taken it. It must have happened recently—I have only been gone for a few hours."_

"Where did you go?" asked Mozzie.

"_She was over at my house," _came June's voice. _"We were looking for the locket."_

"Wait a minute," said Mozzie, "how did you know that Damon wanted the locket?"

There was a long pause, "_Kate told me."_

"KATE!" shouted Mozzie. "You've been talking to Kate? Kate-who tried to kill Neal only a couple of hours ago-Kate? Since when have you and Kate been best friends?"

"_We're not!" _defended Elizabeth. _"It's complicated-"_

"I'll say," said Mozzie. He finished enlarging the picture of the trunk. "And I think I just found out why Damon needs that locket." He quickly grabbed his laptop and ran out the door.

"_Mozzie—"_

"Save your breath," said Mozzie, quickly as he hailed a cab. "I'm already on my way."

* * *

"Well, that went well," said Jones.

Cruz raised an eyebrow at him. "What part of that do you think went well?"

"We found out what Damon's after," said Jones. "We now know that he's after Isabella's locket."

"We just have no idea _where_ the locket is," reminded Cruz.

Jones shrugged, "How many places can you really hide a locket?"

Cruz laughed, "I'll remind you of that next time you can't find your keys." She sighed and ran a hand through her short brown hair. "So what's our next move?"

"Well, I suggest that we find the locket," said Jones.

"Not about the locket!" shouted Cruz. "What are we going to do about the fact that Peter and Neal are brothers?"

"Um, nothing," said Jones.

"You just want to keep this information to yourself?" asked Cruz. "We're federal officers sworn to uphold the law!"

"Peter and Neal being related is technically not illegal," said Jones.

"Do you really think the higher ups are going to be okay with this?" asked Cruz. "Once it gets out-"

"Exactly!" said Jones. "Lauren, don't you see? The moment people find out that Neal and Peter are related, they are going to think that Peter got Neal out of prison because Neal's his brother."

"That's not true," said Cruz.

"I know that and you know that," said Jones. "But other people might not see it that way." He took a deep breath. "We both know that there are a lot of agents who think that Peter is crazy for making the deal with Neal as is. If they found out that Peter and Neal are brothers…" Jones trailed off, "Those people are looking for an excuse to hang Peter and throw Neal back in prison. Now, granted Neal's not my favorite person, but he gets the job done. He's done great work for us and he doesn't deserve to go back to prison for something stupid like this."

"So that's it then?" said Lauren. "We just sit on our hands and just forget what we've learned?"

"I'm not saying that," said Jones. He sighed. "Let's just wait until this case is over before we make a decision on what to do, okay?"

Cruz nodded. "Okay."

Jones smiled. He got in the car, followed by Cruz. "Well, the good news is I don't think it could get any worse."

Cruz punched him in the arm, "Don't say that!"

"Ouch," said Jones, rubbing the sore spot on his arm. "What was that for?"

"You _never _said 'it can't get any worse'!" exclaimed Cruz. "Because it always gets worse!"

Jones was about to respond when his cell phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket and answered it. "Jones." He listened to the other person on the line. "Okay, we're on our way."

He hung up the phone and turned to Cruz. "That was Elizabeth. Peter's missing."

"I told you so," said Cruz softly.

* * *

"Oh my God! _Neal!_"

Peter scrambled quickly off the floor and rushed over to Neal's side.

"Oh my God, oh my God," Peter mumbled. Neal's head was bent down, lying on his chest. There were several bruises forming on Neal's face along with multiple cuts and what appeared to be a bloody nose. Neal's hands were tied behind his back and Peter could see the horrible rope burns on his wrist.

"Neal?" Peter said softly. Neal hadn't stirred since Peter had been thrown into the room and that scared him more than he wanted to admit.

Peter reached out and put two fingers on Neal's neck, searching for a pulse. He sighed in relief when he found one.

"Thank God," breathed Peter. "Neal! Neal, wake up!"

"Leave me alone," mumbled Neal softly. His eyes remained closed.

"C'mon Neal, you have to wake up," said Peter, tapping Neal's face lightly. "You have a concussion, remember?"

Neal mumbled something under his breath and

"Neal Caffrey if you do not open your eyes right now, I'm throwing your ass back in the slammer!" shouted Peter.

Neal groaned and opened his eyes. He blinked his eyes a few times as his vision cleared. "Peter!" he exclaimed in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"What do you think I am doing here?" replied Peter sarcastically, "I'm here for the view."

Neal chuckled, "It doesn't have the view that June's does."

"No it does not," said Peter. He moved behind the chair, "Hold still for a minute—I'm going to untie you now."

"Good luck with that," said Neal. "I've been trying for hours and haven't had any luck."

"What? Neal Caffrey has finally meet a knot he can't get out of?" asked Peter amazed. "I'd never thought I'd live to see the day."

"Give me some credit," said Neal, "my one wrist is in a cast." He paused. "You never answered my question."

"Why am I here?" repeated Peter. "Saving your butt of course."

"Peter."

"_Neal_."

"You shouldn't have come."

Neal spoke so softly that Peter almost missed it. Peter paused. He finished untying Neal's hands before walking back to face Neal. "What do you mean I shouldn't have come?" Peter said angrily. "Of course I had to come! Damon was going to kill you if I didn't!"

"He still is!" shouted Neal. "My God, Peter, did you _honestly _think that Damon was ever planning to let me go after this? With all the bad blood between us? He was never going to let me-_let us-_walk out of here!"

"So that's it then?" said Peter. "I'm just supposed to let you sacrifice yourself, is that it?"

"Yeah," said Neal. "It beats getting everyone killed."

"Well excuse me," said Peter angrily, "for caring about my best friend! For _**not**_ wanting him to die a horrible death!" Peter sighed. He ran his hand through his hair. "I promised that nothing else was going to happen to you."

"What are you talking about?" asked Neal confused.

"At the hospital," said Peter. "I told you—"

"That you weren't going to let anyone kill me," finished Neal. He sighed, "Peter, this isn't your fault."

"You're my responsibility," said Peter.

"It's still not your fault," said Neal. He started to stand up but he stood up to quickly and started to fall. Peter was across the room in a second and grabbed a hold of Neal's arm, keeping him from falling.

"Easy Neal," said Peter concerned. He led Neal slowly over to the wall where Neal sank down to the floor. Peter sat down beside him.

"Thanks," said Neal.

Peter waved his hand. "I got your back, remember?"

Neal nodded, "I remember." He sighed, "I'm sorry Peter. I didn't want to get you involved."

"I got some news for you," said Peter, "if you're involved, then I'm involved. That's how this partnership works."

Neal nodded. "Hey Peter?"

"Yeah?" asked Peter.

"You gave Damon the locket, didn't you?" asked Neal.

"Technically no," said Peter. "I got hit from behind and Damon _stole_ the locket. Technically, I did not give to him." He looked over at Neal's sadden face. "I'm sorry Neal. I know it was your mother's."

Neal nodded. "She used to say it was her most prized procession. After me, of course."

"Of course," agreed Peter. He patted Neal's shoulder. "Don't worry, Neal. We'll get your mother's locket back I promise." He sighed. "We just have to figure out how to get out of here somehow."

Neal grinned. "You know, escapes happen to be a Neal Caffrey specialty."

* * *

See? No horrible cliff hangers in this chapter!

Please R&R! I love reviews! They make me so happy!


	12. Chapter 12

The Crime of the Century

By RascalFlattsS

Disclaimer: Still don't own.

Warning: Some mild swearing. And for spoiler alerts-um, I'm pretty much lost track so just to be on the safe side, just assume that there might be a small spoiler alert or two.

Hi! Sorry I haven't updated in…A LONG TIME! It has been super busy…a new job and working overtime like crazy to get everything organized and ready to go…insanity at it's purest. But to make it up to you all, this is I personally think, the best chapter yet. Of course I wrote it so of course it's the best. You'll just have to read it and decide for yourself.

Thank you for your reviews! Your reward: another chapter to review! You are all so lucky. ;-)

* * *

Chapter 12: The Great Escape…According to Neal Caffrey

"You know, escapes happen to be a Neal Caffrey specialty."

"Is that so?" asked Peter, an eyebrow raised. "Funny, I only remember catching you. _Twice._"

"Minor detail," said Neal, waving his hand impatiently. "The important thing is that, I _escaped_. The fact that I was then later caught afterwards, really isn't that important."

Peter snorted. "I'm inclined to disagree."

"Well if you'd like to sit and debate this," said Neal. He stood up slowly, leaning heavily against the wall for support. "You're more than welcome to. I, however, plan on getting the hell out of here before Damon comes back."

Neal wavered slightly as he took a step forward. Peter was up by his side in a moment, holding him up. "Here," Peter said guiding him over to the chair. "You look like you're about to pass out."

Neal shook his head, "No. I'm fine." He tried to stand up but Peter pushed him back down.

"No you're not, Neal," said Peter. "In case you forgot, you were hit by a car yesterday."

"It's kind of hard to forget that Peter," said Neal.

"Plus, it looks like Damon used you as his own personal punching bag," said Peter, as he examined the bruises and cuts on Neal's face.

"Not the first time," said Neal softly. Peter felt his blood boil.

"Don't worry about Peter," said Neal. He could feel the anger rolling off his friend. "I've been beaten up much worse. You don't become a white collar criminal without getting beat up once or twice."

"Well you're a FBI consultant now," said Peter. "You're not supposed to get beaten up anymore."

"You put your life on the line every day," said Neal.

"That's different," said Peter. "I'm an agent."

"And I'm not?" said Neal. He patted Peter's arm. "Peter, I knew the risks when I signed up. And yes there are risks. FBI snitch, remember?"

"You're not a snitch," said Peter angrily.

Neal smiled. "Thanks Peter. But despite that fact, I'm sure there are a lot of old associates who see me as an FBI snitch and aren't happy with me for working for the other team now. So trust me, Peter. I knew what I was getting into." He sighed, "Now that the touchy feely moment is over, we really do need to work on getting out of here."

Neal went to stand up and gasped as a sharp pain sliced through his rib cage. He hoped the small gasp went unnoticed by Peter.

It didn't.

"Neal!" said Peter. "What's wrong? And don't you even think of lying to me."

Neal sighed. Peter knew him all too well. "I think during one of Damon's "integrations", he may have undone the wonderful job the doctors did of setting my ribs." He groaned as another wave of pain cut through him. "And he may have broken a couple more."

Peter cursed softly. "Neal, you need to rest."

"No," said Neal.

"You have to rest," said Peter.

Neal shook his head. "No. We have to leave. We have to get out. RIGHT NOW."

"No," said Peter. "We have some time—"

"No we don't," interpreted Neal. He took a deep breath, "Peter, have you ever caught anyone who ever worked with Damon, have you?"

"No," said Peter slowly.

"There's a reason," said Neal, "Damon kills everyone he works with. And I personally don't want to be around waiting for Damon to come back and kill us."

He stood up and brushed past Peter, walking over to the back corner of the room.

Peter shook his head, "You're a stubborn bastard, you know that right?"

Neal smiled. "Funny. I was about to say the same thing about you."

* * *

Damon, Kate and Lucas waited silently outside the Museum of Natural History.

"What do we do now, boss?" asked Lucas.

"Now we wait," said Damon. "We simply wait."

* * *

"Hey! Peter!"

Peter looked up. He had been examining the door. He cursed silently when he found that the door was flawless. A 100% fool proof. No chance of escaping.

When Neal called from him, he quickly turned. "Neal what is it? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine Peter," said Neal. He smiled at Peter's worry. "I was just wondering if you could get the chair."

"Sure," said Peter. He walked over to the chair. He tried to move it but found it was bolted to the floor.

"Neal, it's bolted to the floor," said Peter.

"I know," said Neal.

Peter looked up angrily. "What do you mean 'you know'?"

"Peter, I've been sitting in that chair for like 12 hours," said Neal, "I think I would have known if it would have moved." He went back to his work, "But there is a screw loose."

"In your head?" asked Peter.

Neal rolled his eyes. "No. In the chair. One of the screws is loose."

Peter looked down and sure enough one of the screws was loose. "How did you-?"

"Again, spent the last 12 hours trying to move that chair half an inch," said Neal.

"And how long to did it take?" asked Peter.

"About 11 and half hours," said Neal.

"11 and half hours and all you got is one screw loose?" asked Peter.

"And you think you could do better?" asked Neal. "Don't forget, I have a concussion and a fractured wrist and several broken ribs."

"This is probably a stupid question," said Peter.

"There is no such thing," said Neal.

"Why do you need the chair?" asked Peter.

"Okay, I lied," said Neal, "There is such a thing as a stupid question."

"_Neal," _groaned Peter.

"Okay," said Neal. "Here's my escape plan. We use the chair to reach the ceiling and move one of those panels. We then climb up and get into the air shaft and then follow it to an exterior vent and then we are out. Good-bye tiny cell and hello freedom!"

"And how exactly did you escape from prison?" asked Peter.

Neal rolled his eyes, "Okay. Do you have a better idea?"

"Yes," said Peter. "We get through the door—"

"Not going to work," interrupted Neal.

"Will you let me finish?" asked Peter.

"No," said Neal. "I can already going to tell you how it's going to end. You're never going to get through the door and we still be stuck in this tiny room until Damon gets back. Escape plan fail."

"Why?" asked Peter. "It sounds a lot better than crawling through an air vent."

"That door," said Neal "is solid steel. They make thinner doors at Fort Knox. Have you known anyone who has been successful at breaking Fort Knox in the last fifty years?"

"No," said Peter.

"Exactly," said Neal. "If no can break through a skinner door at Fort Knox, you're not going to be able to break through door."

"Did you try to break into Fort Knox?" asked Peter.

"What?" asked Neal.

"Did you ever try to break into Fort Knox?" asked Peter.

"I don't really how that's relevant," said Neal.

"You did, didn't you?" asked Peter. "Damn it Neal!"

"Peter," said Neal. "One, clearly I was never successful at breaking into Fort Knox, otherwise I'm sure you would have heard about it. Two, since I didn't break into Fort Knox, I'm not sure how it's relevant and three, unless you want to hear a _really _long story, I suggest we worry about that later and focus on getting out of here."

"Fine," said Peter. "But this isn't the end of this. We will be having a discussion later."

"Oh I'm sure we will," said Neal, rolling his eyes.

* * *

Elizabeth couldn't help pacing around her kitchen. June and Satchmo watched her.

"They're going to be okay," said June softly.

Elizabeth nodded. "I know."

But despite that, she was still worried about Peter and Neal. She continued to pace.

* * *

Mozzie watched as the cab driver weaved in and out of traffic. Even through the driver had assured him-several times—that he was going as fast as he could.

_You'd have better be okay, Neal, _ prayed Mozzie, _please be okay. Please…_

Mozzie turned to the driver, "Please step on it! This is a matter of life and death."

* * *

"Remember to stick to the plan."

"I know," said Cruz. "Find the locket, find Neal and Peter, stop Damon and then prevent the crime of the century." She paused. "Then we will decide what do with the fact that Neal and Peter are brothers."

Jones nodded, "Exactly."

Cruz sighed. "We need to think of a simpler plan."

Jones glanced over at her, "What's wrong with the plan? It's simple really-find the locket, save our team and catch the bad guy. Then we decide whatever or not we want to tell Peter and Neal that they are brothers and watch the horrible distraction that follows. " He paused. "What's so complicated about that?"

He looked over at Cruz's confused face. "What?"

Cruz sighed, "We better stop for coffee. It's going to be a long night."

* * *

It was a lot harder trying to escape than Peter ever imaged. With all the obstacles they had to overcome, Peter wondered how Neal could have possibly ever escaped even _once_, not alone twice.

The first obstacle they hit was the chair. No matter how hard they tried, it would not move. That chair was bolted to the floor and was going to stay that way till the end of time.

Peter had suggested that Neal stand on his shoulders and Neal could climb into the vent and then pull Peter up.

"Nope," said Neal. "Won't work."

"Why are you being so negative?" asked Peter. "Is it because it's my plan? Is it because it's _my_ plan instead of yours?"

"No," said Neal, "It won't work because in case you forgot, I dislocated my shoulder and a broken wrist this morning. I'm not going to be able to lift you up."

"Oh," said Peter.

"I do have a counteroffer," said Neal. "_You _can stand on my shoulders and then lift _me _up."

"And how is that going to better than before?" asked Peter.

"Because I thought of it," said Neal, smiling. "I'm kidding, Peter! I'm kidding!" He sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Honestly, I think I can support your weight long enough for you to get into the vent."

"You think?" asked Peter.

"Pretty sure," said Neal.

Peter sighed. "It's going to hurt you, isn't it?" asked Peter.

"Don't worry about me Peter," said Neal.

"Then why do you constantly get into trouble?" asked Peter.

"Call it a gift," said Neal.

"You're avoiding my question," said Peter.

"Which one?" asked Neal. "You have to give me more than that, Pete. It's been a long night and I am concussed."

"Don't call me Pete," said Peter. "And you are avoiding my question. Your plan-of me standing on your shoulders-it's going to hurt you, isn't it?"

Neal sighed, "Probably."

"Then we're not doing," said Peter firmly.

"Peter—"

"No Neal."

"But—"

"I said no," said Peter firmly. "I am not going along with any plan where you get hurt. So you're just going to have to think of something else."

"This is our best choice," said Neal. "Our _only _choice." He shook his head. "I'll be honest with you Peter—"

"There's a first," mumbled Peter.

"Will you let me finish?" asked Neal, annoyed. "As I was saying before you interrupted, I am about as fond of this plan as you are. Believe me. But if that's what it takes to get us out of here, then that's what I'll do."

"Fine," said Peter. "But as soon as we get out of here, you are going to the hospital."

"Fine," said Neal. "Now we can we get out of here?"

"Sure," said Peter. "Are you ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," said Neal. He held out his hands to give Peter a boost. Peter put his foot up in Neal's hands. Neal lifted up his hands and Peter then put his feet on Neal's shoulders. Neal grimaced his teeth tightly to stop him from crying out in pain.

"When this is over," grunted Neal. "You need to go on a diet."

"Oh shut up," said Peter. He moved the ceiling tile, pushing it aside. He then put his hands on either side of the vent and pulled himself up and into the vent.

Once he was in, he looked down at Neal. Neal looked at him, smiling his classic Neal Caffrey smile.

"Can I get a lift?" asked Neal.

"I should leave you down here to rot," said Peter, "After that fat joke you made."

"You could," said Neal. "But you won't."

"You should pretty certain about that," said Peter.

"You're too nice," said Neal, still smiling. "Besides if you go home without me, Elizabeth _would _kill you."

Peter muttered something under his breath that Neal couldn't hear. Neal just smiled. Peter held out his hand. Neal grabbed his hand.

"Ready?" asked Peter.

"Just get me the hell out of here," said Neal.

Peter shook his head. He gripped Neal's arm tightly and pulled. He tried to ignore the cries from Neal. Once Neal had his top half in the vent, he let go out of Peter's hand and gripped the edge of the vent and pulled himself up, with Peter's help.

The two men sat for a moment, catching their breath.

"Now, all we have do is crawl our way through the vent till we find an exterior vent," said Neal. "Oh and avoid falling through the vent. And avoid getting caught. Oh and dying."

"Is that all?" asked Peter.

"Pretty much," said Neal. He started to crawl through the vent. Peter followed behind him. The two men crawled in silence.

"Where did you get this idea anyway?" asked Peter.

Neal paused, "I don't want to say."

"Why not?"

"Because you'll get mad."

"No I won't."

"You promise?"

"Fine Neal! I promise I won't get mad," said Peter.

"Burn Notice," said Neal.

"The TV show on USA network?" asked Peter.

"That's the one," said Neal.

"You learned how to escape a small holding cell and crawl through a ceiling vent from a TV show?" asked Peter.

"Welcome to the 21st century, Peter," said Neal.

Peter mumbled under his breath. "When we get out of here, I am cutting off your TV access," said Peter.

Neal rolled his eyes. "You'll all bark and no bite, Agent Burke. And look, here's an external vent. One swift kick and we're out of here." He looked at Peter.

"Why are you looking at me?" asked Peter.

"I don't maybe," said Neal. "Maybe because you're the one with all the FBI training and who has all the experience kicking down doors."

"What about you?" asked Peter. "Haven't you kicked down a door?"

"I'm a white collar criminal!" said Neal. "I pick locks! I don't break down doors!" Neal sighed. "If we were on a TV show, the cool FBI agent would have already kicked it down by now," he mumbled.

"All right!" said Peter. "Get out the way!" Peter straighten out his legs and kicked the door. It didn't bulge. He kicked again…and again…and again…

After the fifth or the tenth kick (Neal lost count), the door finally broke. Peter slid out the vent and landed on the pavement. He landed on his ankle and it twisted underneath him. He gasped in pain.

Neal meanwhile slid out the vent, in his usually catlike style, landing flawlessly on the pavement.

Peter stood up grimacing at Neal, "Do you always have to do that?"

"It's a gift," said Neal.

"Now what?" asked Peter.

Neal looked around for a few seconds until he spotted what he was looking for. He walked forward, patting Peter on the shoulder. "Don't worry-I have a plan."

"We're doomed," said Peter as he followed Neal.

* * *

Elizabeth and June were waiting in the kitchen when Jones and Cruz walked in.

"We know what Damon is after," started Jones.

"Neal's mother's locket," said June. "We know."

Cruz and Jones looked at each other before turning back to the other two, "How do you know that?"

"It's a long story," said Elizabeth. She sighed, "Kate told me."

"You talked to Kate?" asked Cruz.

"Yes," said Elizabeth. "She told me the history of the locket-it came over the Titanic."

"Isabella's sister told us the same thing," said Cruz. Jones raised an eyebrow, noticing that Cruz referred to Elizabeth's mother-in-law as Isabella Caffrey's sister. "But she said it's not valuable."

"It's not." They turned and saw Mozzie walking in. "The locket itself isn't valuable. It's what is inside the locket that makes it valuable."

"What's inside the locket?" asked Jones.

"A key," said Mozzie. He set down all the files he was carrying. He dug through one file until he found a picture of the locket.

"A key?" asked June. "A key to what?"

"This," said Mozzie, pulling out a picture of a chest. He tossed it on the table.

"What is it?" asked Elizabeth.

"This is what Damon is after," said Mozzie.

"It's a chest," said Cruz slowly.

"That's not just any chest!" said Mozzie. "This chest is one of the greatest finds in history! If what's in that chest is what I think is in that chest, it would be the greatest treasure in the history of mankind."

"What's in the chest?" asked Jones.

"That's what we'd like to know."

They turned and gasped. Elizabeth screamed!

"Oh my God! _It's you!"_

* * *

Oh no! More horrible cliffie karma! NO!

I hope you all enjoyed the reference to Burn Notice-which is another awesome show.

Next chapter-find out what's in the chest…it will be good, I promise.

Please R&R! I love the reviews!


	13. Chapter 13

The Crime of the Century

By RascalFlattsS

Disclaimer: Do not own White Collar.

Thanks so much for all your reviews! And for your patience!

* * *

Chapter 13: The Crime of the Century Revealed….

"Oh my God! _It's you!"_

"Who else did you think it was going to be?" asked Neal as he and Peter stepped through the door.

Elizabeth ran forward. She wrapped one arm around Peter and the other around Neal, hugging them close to her.

"Thank God, you are both alright," whispered Elizabeth as tears rolled down her face. "Thank God you're both alright…"

"Um, Elizabeth," said Neal. "You're choking me!"

"Sorry!" said Elizabeth. "Are you all right? Why didn't you take him to the hospital?" She swatted Peter gently on the arm.

"I tried," said Peter. "But the stubborn jerk wouldn't go."

"I told you it was a bad idea," said Neal. "Damon is going to have a lookout on at every hospital in the tri-state area because he knows that if we did escape, that is the first place you were going to take me. Besides, I'm fine."

"You most certainly will be," said June. She came over and started fussing over Neal. She took his hand and guided him to a chair. "Mozzie, dear, will you go find the first aid kit?"

"Of course," said Mozzie. He put his hand on Neal's shoulder. "I'm glad you're not dead."

"Me too, Moz," said Neal.

"Are you okay, Peter?" asked Elizabeth.

"I'm fine," said Peter.

"Promise not to get kidnapped again?" she asked as she kissed him.

"I promise," said Peter, kissing her back.

"How do you guys escape?" asked Jones.

Neal looked hurt. "I'm going to pretend you didn't ask that question."

"Right," said Jones. "I forgot who I was talking who."

Mozzie walked back in with the first aid kit. June took it from him and she and Lauren set to work treating Neal's injuries. "So what happened?" she asked

"Damon called," said Peter. "He wanted to make a deal for Neal in exchange for—"

"My mother's locket," inserted Neal. "The bastard wanted my mother's locket."

"Do you want to tell the story?" asked Peter. Neal rolled his eyes but allowed June and Lauren to continue treating his injuries.

"He wanted to make a trade," continued Peter. "Neal for the locket. Except Damon didn't hold up his end of the bargain."

"Big surprise," mumbled Neal.

Peter shot him a look and Neal stopped talking. "Anyway, he put me in the same room as Neal and we managed to escape using by crawling out an air vent."

"Not your usual stylist escape, Caffrey," said Lauren.

"What can I say?" said Neal. "Desperate times calls for desperate measures." He gasped as Lauren and June wrapped an ACE bandage around his ribs. "Not so tight!"

"And then Neal hotwired a car," said Peter.

"First of all, it was a life or death situation because if we hadn't stolen the car to get out of there, we would have been killed," said Neal. "And second of all, it was _Damon's_ car and since he kidnapped and beat me to a pulp, I think it's more than fair."

"But Damon still has the locket," said Lauren. "And we still don't know what he's going to steal."

"Actually we do," said Mozzie. He turned to Neal. "You're not going to believe it. You remember that time in London?"

"You went to London?" asked Peter. "When?"

"When I was sixteen," said Neal, "We went for spring break." He looked at Mozzie. "You can't be serious."

"Have I ever lied to you?" asked Mozzie

"But that's a myth!" said Neal. "There's never been any proof!"

Mozzie grabbed a vanilla folder. He pulls out a picture of a chest and set it in front of Neal. Neal picks up the picture and grasps.

"No way!" said Neal.

"I know!" said Mozzie.

"Are you sure?" asked Neal.

"Positive," said Mozzie. "See the engraving on the side?"

Neal studied the picture, "R.L.," he gasped. "It can't be…"

"I know!" said Mozzie. "I was shocked too. But this is what Damon is after! I guarantee it!"

"It makes sense," said Neal. "If the legend is true, then…."

"There's a fortune inside that trunk!" said Mozzie.

"Do you mind sharing with the rest of the class?" asked Peter. Neal and Mozzie looked up and saw the confused looks on everyone's face.

"This is possible the greatest treasure in history," said Mozzie. "My uncle took Neal and I to London for a week and-"

"He made it into a treasure hunt," finished Neal. "It was his way of teaching us history on our vacation."

"This is King Richard's chest," said Mozzie.

"And how many King Richard's are there in history?" asked Jones.

"A lot," said Neal. "But this King Richard was king of England. He ruled England in the Middle Ages. He led England in the Crusades. While he was away, his brother Prince John was left in charge."

"This is where the tales get a little confusing," said Mozzie. "Some of them say that he was a yeoman-other say he was a noble-particular a noble from Loxley. A few others say he was an Earl. But they all agree that he 'robbed the rich to help the poor'."

"No," breathed Elizabeth. "Surely you're not taking about—"

"Robin Hood," said Neal.

There was a moment of silence.

"C'mon!" said Peter. "There's no such person as Robin Hood; it's just folklore."

"This chest is real Suit," said Mozzie. "And as you can clearly see on the side, carved in the wood is the initials R.L."

"Robin of Loxley," said June softly. Mozzie and Neal nodded.

"That doesn't mean its Robin Hood initials," said Peter. "Besides, if it was really Robin Hood why wouldn't he put R.H.?"

"Because Suit," said Mozzie. "Hood was a nickname-not his actually last name. If he was a duke or earl, his last name would have been the name of the land that he owned. Many of the stories suggest that he was from Loxley. That would mean his name and title would have been Robin of Loxley; hence the initials R.L."

"Okay fine, I'll give you that one," said Peter. "But I thought Robin Hood was a supporter of King Richard. Why would he steal the King's chest?"

"The legend goes on to say that Prince John and his men went around England, collecting the taxes from the people," said Mozzie. "He used a chest to hold the gold for 'taxes'"-Mozzie used air quotes around the word taxes-"that he took from the people. When he was traveling back to the castle, he was robbed by Robin Hood."

"Robin Hood and his merry men took the chest," continued Neal. "The story goes on the say that Robin Hood then used the chest as bank account-putting money in and then taking out to give to the locals."

"But I thought he gave all the money to the poor," said Lauren.

"He did," said Neal. "Most of it anyway. He kept some as some of it in the chest as kind of a rainy day fund. It was said that he would use the money to pay off debts of the locals or get them or his men out of trouble with the law."

"They think that Robin Hood kept the chest," said Mozzie, "Because it was one of the few items that was never found. Most people think that Robin Hood or his men probably cut it up and used it for firewood, but I don't think so. A few stories and ballads Neal and I found on vacation indicated that when times were particular desperate, Robin would appear with gold or jewels out of nowhere. That's when we came up with the theory about the chest."

"Wait a minute," said Jones. "This was your idea?"

"You don't have to sound shocked," snapped Mozzie. "The idea has been around for centuries but few people believe that Robin Hood was an _actually_ person. Most historians' think he was a legend or folklore. Even fewer think that part of Robin Hood's treasure still exists and is hidden in a missing treasure chest."

"Wait a minute," said Peter. "Are you telling me there's treasure in that chest?"

Neal nodded. "History states the Prince John tried to make an allegiance with King Philip of France. That didn't go well with King Richard and a feud broke out between those who supported Prince John and King Richard. Prince John didn't have the military backing to support a feud and he lost. King Richard forgave him but he took away all of John's land in England—"

"Except Ireland," injected Mozzie.

"Ireland's not part of England," said Neal.

"It was in the 12th century," argued Mozzie.

"Boys!" said June. "Stop arguing and finish the story. What happened to Robin Hood after Prince John lost the feud."

"No one knows," said Neal. "He fell off the face of the earth. That's why many historians think he is a myth. They argue someone as well-known as Robin Hood would have been able to fall off the face of the Earth so easily. But I think that Robin Hood knew that Prince John wasn't going to go away-as he was King Richard's heir. I think Robin Hood went into hiding with his wife."

"Maid Marian?" asked Elizabeth. Neal and Mozzie nodded.

"It makes sense when you think about it," said Mozzie. "The legends state the Maid Marian was Robin's love interest. If he went into hiding, odds are she would have gone into hiding with him."

"So how does the locket play into it?" asked Peter.

"See this?" said Mozzie. He pointed to the picture of the chest, "It has a lock that can be only opened with a key."

"The locket was heavy!" said Peter, suddenly remembering how heavy the locket weighed when he picked it up. "There was a key inside the locket!"

Mozzie nodded, "My thoughts exactly. A locket would be a good place to hide a key. Robin Hood probably hide the key in the locket and then gave it to Maid Marian."

"That make sense," said Lauren. "Remember what Neal's aunt said? The locket had been in her family for generations."

"And came across on the Titanic," finished Jones, "Which carried English passengers and immigrants coming to America."

"You guys talked to my aunt?" said Neal. "You found her?"

Jones and Lauren looked at each other. "We were trying to figure out what Damon wanted from you and we looked through your father's will and found nothing," said Lauren, softly. "So we took a look at your mother's will. She left her sister some money that she never collected. We found her and wanted to ask her why. That's how we learned about the locket."

Neal looked between the two FBI agents. Lauren felt as if his blue eyes were x-raying her, trying to determine what she was holding back.

"I'll admit that there was something in the locket," said Peter. "But Robin Hood's long lost treasure? I can't believe it."

"You don't have to believe it, Suit," said Mozzie. "But you better believe that Damon does and that's what he's going to steal." He paused, "And guess where the chest is?"

"New York?" asked Peter.

Mozzie nodded, "At the History Museum."

"Does the museum know what they have?" asked Jones.

Mozzie shrugged, "Probably not. It's part of their exhibit of artifacts from the Middle Ages. They know that they have a chest that dates back to time period that they found in some field in England. Wherever they knew that it belonged to the King of England; that I don't know. But you better believe that Damon knows it."

"How much is it worth?" asked Elizabeth.

"The chest itself is probably worth about five-maybe six-figures," said Neal. "An intact chest from this time period is extremely rare. But if it's filled with gold coins and jewels like Damon thinks it is-"Neal took a deep breath. "It could be easily worth around ten million-probably more depending on what the exact contents of the chest are."

"So Damon's going to steal the chest," said Peter.

Neal and Mozzie nodded, "The crime of the century," said Neal softly under his breath.

"Only if he gets away with it," said Peter. His face hardened. He turned to Jones and Lauren. "We know where he's going and what he's going to steal. Now that he has the key, he's going to do it soon. We set up surveillance around the museum and wait for him to make his move."

"No Peter," said Neal. "You can't! Damon will be expecting that."

"It's the only option we have," said Peter. "I'll talk to the museum; see if we can increase security."

"Peter, you don't understand," said Neal. "Damon's a sociopath but he's a _smart_ sociopath. He reads the FBI playbook-he knows exactly what you will do! And he will be expecting it!"

"He's overconfident," said Peter. "He's going to make a mistake and we'll catch him when he does."

Neal stood, "Then let me come with you."

"No Neal!" said Peter. "You are staying here, where it's safe."

"But I can help!" said Neal.

"I don't want your help!" shouted Peter. He shook his head, "I want you to be _safe. _Damon is planning on killing you, Neal."

"He was also planning to kill you too," said Neal.

"If Damon is expecting anything, he'll be excepting you to show up," said Peter. "Probably with you too in tow," he said pointing to Mozzie. "That's why you are going to stay here where Damon can't find you."

"But—"

"If you would just listen-"

"NO!" said Peter. "I am putting my foot down! Neal and Mozzie—you are both under house arrest until further notice! And if either one of you steps one toe outside, so help me, I will throw you both in jail!"

* * *

Jones had called the office for back up. The NYPD has sent over police officers to keep guard on the house while the FBI headed off to the museum.

As soon as the police officers had arrived, Peter, Jones and Lauren had left.

"I can't believe that Peter is doing this!" said Neal. "This is an all-time low!"

"He just wants you to be safe, Neal," said June softly.

"But I should be out there, helping him!" said Neal.

Elizabeth had been starring out the window. "What would you do?" she asked softly. The other three turned to look at her.

"What did you say?" asked Neal.

"If you were there," said Elizabeth, "what would you do to stop Damon?" She turned to face Neal and Mozzie.

The two conmen looked at each other. "If I was there, I would try to surprise Damon; catch him off guard," said Neal. "Damon's a planner. He plans everything down to the smallest detail. He has back up plans for his back up plans. But he can't improvise worth a damn. If you throw him off guard and throw him off plan and _force _him to improvise, you might be able to catch him."

"And how would you do that?" asked Elizabeth.

"The easiest way?" said Neal. "Do the unexpected. Do the one thing that he doesn't except you to do."

"The last time," said Mozzie, "we caught him off guard by sending an anonymous tip to the Feds and Damon got his hand caught in the cookie jar." He sighed, "The problem with Damon is he's a smart criminal. He learns from his mistakes. This time, he's going to expect the Feds to coming rushing in."

"So how would you stop him?" pressed Elizabeth.

"If I were there," said Neal slowly, "I would try to steal the chest before Damon gets there. Damon will be expecting a lot of things, but he will be definitely be expecting the Feds to leave the chest where it is so they can try to catch him red handed. But if the chest isn't there to steal…" his voice trailed off.

"Can you do it?" asked Elizabeth.

Mozzie and Neal looked at each other.

"Well—" started Neal.

"No," said Mozzie firmly. "Neal, you're injured."

"I'm fine," said Neal.

"You say that one more time and I'm going to hit you," said Mozzie. "Okay for arguments sakes, even if Neal was fine-there's no way this is a two man job."

"I'll help," volunteered June.

"June," said Neal. "This could be really dangerous."

"If you are going, so am I," said June firmly.

Neal sighed running his hand through his hair, "It might work. The only problem is if we're caught _stealing_ the chest…" He sighed, "Peter will probably sending all of us to jail."

"What if we don't steal the chest?" said Elizabeth. "What if we just made it look like we stole it?"

"What are you getting at Mrs. Suit?" asked Mozzie.

"It would be only stealing if the chest is removed from the property, right?" asked Elizabeth. "So what if we remove it from its display, making it appears that it is stolen? When in reality, it's still in the museum. That wouldn't be technically stealing, would it?"

The other three looked at her.

"That might work…" said Neal slowly.

"Are you crazy?" asked Mozzie. "We are under house arrest, in case you forgot."

"Moz, you know what Damon's capable of," said Neal. "We have to try and stop him."

"I've read his file," said Elizabeth. "I know what he did at that bank ten years ago. I know how violent he is. And I'm not going to stand by and let my husband walk into some sort of trap.

"So let me get this straight," said Mozzie, "You want to break out of house arrest and avoid getting caught by the ten police officers outside. Then you want us to break into the museum, avoiding the Feds, museum security _and_ Damon's people and to move a seven hundred year old chest and hide it somewhere in the museum where Damon won't find it, so that it appear that we've stolen it without actually stealing it? And to do all this without getting caught and/or killed. Is that right?"

"Yes," said Elizabeth. "And I am going to help you pull off the _real _crime of the century."

* * *

I remember in season one how Neal told Peter how he is interested in artifacts with rich histories because of how they still affect us in the present (I can't remember exactly which episode he said that in). So I thought a chest tied to Robin Hood would have a lot of historical value that would attract Neal and Mozzie to the treasure and have a large monetary value. Plus I was watching Robin Hood, BBC on Netflix the other day and the idea just came to me….;-)

Thanks to Wikipedia for help on Robin Hood myths and lore. If I got anything wrong, please let me know. I tried making it seem realistically while leaving room for some myth for Neal and Mozzie to come up with their own theories on what happened.

Please R&R! I love reviews! They make me so happy!


	14. Chapter 14

The Crime of the Century

By RascalFlattsS

Disclaimer: Do NOT own White Collar

Thanks for all your reviews! And your patience! I am trying to wrap up this story as quick as I can. I am thinking about another 5-6 chapters to finish the story out…I will try to get it done as soon as I can!

* * *

Chapter 14: Everyone Has A Plan….

"Have I mentioned this is a bad idea?" asked Mozzie.

"About eight times," said Neal

"He also said it three more times while you were in the bathroom," said June.

Neal sighed and shook his head, "Moz…"

"No, don't start," said Mozzie. "This is a bad idea. No-I take that back-this a horrific and completely suicidal idea."

"We've gone up against Damon before," said Neal.

"Yeah," said Mozzie sarcastically, "And look how well that turned out."

The moment Mozzie said it, he regretted it. Neal hung his head. There was a moment of tension.

"Neal—"

"Don't you understand, Moz?" said Neal. "Damon is a killer! And he's going to keep killing and hurt people! He's not going to stop once he steals the chest-there is no last score for him Moz!"

"He's a psycho-path!" said Mozzie. "He's going to kill you!"

"HE KILLED MY FATHER!" shouted Neal.

"And my uncle!" shouted Mozzie. "Damon killed my family too Neal! I want him behind bars more than anything! But I'm not going to risk losing another member of my family!"

"Moz…" said Neal softly

"How long have we known each other, Neal?" asked Mozzie. "How long have we been friends? How could you not think about that?"

"I'm sorry," said Neal. "It's just-this is all my fault."

"Neal, it's not your fault," said Mozzie. "What happened to your dad or Uncle Lawrence-"

"But it is!" said Neal. "I knew all along from when I first meet Damon, I _knew _what Damon was and I didn't stop him."

"You were just a kid Neal," said Mozzie.

"That's no excuse," said Neal. "I just feel like I should have done something. All the people Damon's hurt-it's all my fault…."

Neal collapsed on the couch. June sat down next to him. "Neal Caffrey, in the time I've known you, I've never known you to be a violent person."

"He's not," agreed Mozzie. "I've known Neal Caffrey for over ten years and I've never known him to hurt a fly."

"Then how can you say that what Damon's done is your fault?" asked June softly.

"Because I'm responsible," said Neal. "I should have stopped him; not just when I was a kid but ten years ago—"

"Neal Douglas Caffrey you listen to me," said June. "What happened is NOT your fault. You cannot control what others do and you cannot be held responsible for the actions of anyone other than yourself."

"But-"

"No buts," said June. "You cannot undo the past; you can only move forward into the future. Nor you can you chose the path of others. You can only make your own path." June sighed, "Damon has chose his path. Now, you have to choose yours."

Neal smiled softly, "How do you always know what to say?"

"I'm a mother," said June. "It comes with the territory."

Neal sighed, "I've made lots of mistakes in my life. I've put my faith in the wrong people; done bad things."

"We all make mistakes," said June. "But they don't have to define you."

Neal sighed. He looked up at Mozzie. "I have to do this."

Mozzie sighed, "I know."

"You don't have to come," said Neal.

"Are you kidding?" said Mozzie. "And miss a chance to nail Damon and kick him in the teeth? Where do I sign up?"

"Thanks Moz," said Neal, smiling.

"Yeah well," said Mozzie, shrugging it off. "I still say this is a bad idea."

"Duly noted," said Neal.

"Of course if Damon catches us, he'll most likely kill us," said Mozzie. "And if the Suit catches us, he'll send us to jail."

"Do you really think I'd let either of you go to jail?" said Elizabeth as she walked into the room.

"Aw Mrs. Suit," said Mozzie, "Have you managed to figure out how to get us out of this fortress and past the forty FBI agents that are outside?"

"Of course I do," said Elizabeth. "I have a plan."

"Geez where have I heard that before?" sighed Mozzie.

* * *

"Who's in charge here?" demanded Peter as he walked up to the front desk of the museum.

"That would be me." A tall man dressed in an Italian suit came walking up to Peter. "Miles Daniels. I'm the curator of this museum. And you would be?"

"Agent Peter Burke, FBI," said Peter. "This is Agent Clinton Jones and Lauren Cruz."

"What can I do for you, Agent?" asked Daniels.

"Do you have this?" asked Peter. He pulled out a picture of the chest and showed it to Daniels.

"Why yes," said Daniels. "I do believe that we did acquire this piece in our new collection."

"We think someone is going to try to steal it," said Peter.

Miles Daniels laughed. "Am I being punked?"

"I am not joking about this," said Peter. "We have evidence that a thief is going to steal the chest."

"That chest?" repeated Daniels. "Are you sure about this?"

"Very," said Jones.

Daniels paled, "I can assure you Agent Burke, we have the best security-"

"I am sure you do," said Peter shortly. "But we need to discuss how to better enhance your security system so we catch your thief and you don't lose your chest."

"Of course," said Daniels. "Right this way."

* * *

"So tell me Mrs. Suit," said Mozzie. "How do you plan to get us out of the house without the FBI agents knowing?"

"Simple," said Elizabeth. "We don't leave the house by any of the doors or windows."

Neal and Mozzie stopped in their tracks. "So, we're supposed to teleport ourselves out of here?" asked Mozzie.

Elizabeth laughed. She opened the door to the basement and started walking downstairs. "I told Agent Muller that I was giving Neal some pain medication."

"Which means I would be asleep for the rest of the night," said Neal, "giving me the perfect alibi if Peter calls."

Elizabeth nodded, "Then after the stressful couple of days and lack of sleep the three of us have had," she added. "I told them that I would be taking a sleeping pill to calm my nerves and get some sleep. I may have suggested that June and Mozzie may do so as well."

"Okay, so that explains why you borrowed my CD of whale songs," said Mozzie. "But that still doesn't explain how we are getting out of here."

Elizabeth smiled, "This is our way out." She reached the bottom stair and flicked on the light.

"Aw the basement," said Neal. "All good escape plans start in the basement…no wait—that all good torture chambers start in the basement."

Elizabeth punched him gently in the arm. Neal gasped. "Ouch!"

"Are you okay?" asked Elizabeth and June together.

"I knew it!" said Mozzie. "That right there is a bad omen!"

"Relax Moz," said Neal, "it's just a small bruise. I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" asked June.

Neal nodded, "Never felt better."

Elizabeth sighed, "You don't have to do this Neal."

Neal stiffened his resolve. "Yes I do." He smiled his classic Neal Caffrey smile. "So Lizzie, are you going to tell us how we are going to get out of the magical basement."

"Stop calling me Lizzie!" said Elizabeth. She walked over to the corner and started moving some boxes around."

"So what are we going to do?" asked Mozzie, "Tunnel out of here?"

Elizabeth moved the last box aside, revealing a large section of the wall. She grabbed one of the tiles and pulled it out. Instead of seeing cement, the group felt a cold breeze through the room and the smell of dirt filled the air.

Elizabeth turned to them, smiling, "Something like that."

Mozzie let out a low whistle, "Mrs. Suit, I'm impressed."

"Why thank you Mozzie," said Elizabeth. She grabbed a flashlight and tossed it to Mozzie who caught it. He turned it on and stepped into the tunnel with June right on his heels.

Neal walked forward, examining the tunnel, "Does Peter know about this?"

Elizabeth blushed, "No." She handed Neal a flashlight. He turned it on and stepped into the tunnel. Elizabeth followed, grabbing hold of the board and putting it back in place, hiding the entrance to the tunnel.

"Where you ever planning on telling him?" asked Neal.

Elizabeth shrugged her shoulders. "Do you really think he would have let this stay open? I always figured it come in handy someday."

"When is it from?" asked June.

"The realtor said it was part of the Underground Railroad," said Elizabeth.

"Any idea where it leads?" said Mozzie as the tunnel slopped downward.

"It comes out somewhere around the warehouse district," said Elizabeth.

"You been down here before?" asked Neal.

"Once when Peter was on a stakeout," said Elizabeth, "I explored the tunnel to figure out where it leads. I figured if I was running for my life, I'd better know where I was going."

"And once we get out of the tunnel?" asked June.

"That part I haven't quite figured out yet," said Elizabeth softly.

"Actually, that works," said Mozzie. When the other three turned to look him as well, "I may have one of my 'safe houses' in the warehouse district."

"Where in New York don't you have a safe house, Moz?" asked Neal.

"I like to think like a boy scout," said Mozzie. "Be prepared."

"You were never a boy scout," said Neal.

"Minor detail," said Mozzie, waving his hand.

Neal rolled his eyes, and shook his head softly.

"Oh you're one to talk," said Mozzie. "You just burst into a situation and just improvise and charm your way out of it."

"I'm still alive, aren't I?" asked Neal.

"Have you looked in the mirror lately?" asked Mozzie.

"Um guys?" said Elizabeth, "I hate to break up this brotherly moment but would you mind paying attention? Because I think if I remember correctly, we're coming to—"

Mozzie took a step forward, stepping on a small rock that pushed down into the ground. The tunnel shook and the wooden door underneath them opened up. They were suspended for a moment in the air before gravity took over and they fell into the abyss.

* * *

"Absolutely not!"

Peter rubbed his hand across his face, "Mr. Daniels-try to be reasonable-"

"Do you understanding what you are asking, Agent Burke?" asked Daniels. "Cancel our biggest fundraiser of the year? Are you insane?"

"Mr. Daniels—"

"No! We have been working on this fundraiser for six months!" said Daniels. "This is a largest fundraiser of the year! And you wants us to cancel? All because of some _tip_?"

"Mr. Daniels," said Lauren, "I can sure that the tip is creditable. We have reason to believe that your museum is going to be robbed."

"Some thief is going to break into your museum, by pass all the jewelry and other priceless pieces to steal some old chest?" asked Daniels. He clucked at his own little chest, "I may not know much about criminality, agents but I find it hard to believe that one thief is going to pass up all the other valuables here to steal an old worthless chest!"

"Have you opened the chest?" asked Peter.

"What?" asked Daniels.

"Have you opened the chest?" repeated Peter. "How do you know that there isn't something valuable inside the chest if you've never opened it?"

Daniel scoffed, "That's crazy. The chest does not open."

"Which means that you can't open it," said Peter.

Daniels paused, "We are afraid that by trying to open the chest, we could cause damage to the chest that would destroy the historical value."

Peter pulled out a picture of the chest, "This is the chest in question. And you can see that there is a lock that requires a key to open the chest."

Daniels look at the picture, "Why yes, Agent Burke. I believe you are right. But no doubt that the key that opens the chest is lost somewhere in the English countryside."

"We have reasonable belief that the thief has acquired the key," said Jones.

"Of course," said Daniels. "That makes perfect sense. This 'thief' happened to find this key somewhere in the English countryside, believes it will unlock the chest and is planning to break into this museum during our biggest event of the year to steal a worthless chest."

Peter was ready to reach across the table and strangle this guy.

"Yes," said Jones.

Daniels laughed. "You must be joking!"

"I assure you sir, I am not," growled Peter.

The smiled faded. "I appreciate your concern, but I cannot cancel our biggest event. The board of directors would have my head."

"Understandable," said Lauren. "How about a compromise? What if you still have the event but remove the chest from display?"

"Out of the question!" said Daniels. "The chest is an important part of the display!"

"I thought you said it wasn't valuable?" said Peter.

"It's not," said Daniels quickly. "Not by itself anyway. But the chest is an important part of our new collections-which we are debuting at our fundraiser…."

"Then at least allow us to have a FBI presence at the fundraiser," said Jones.

"I can't allow that," said Daniels. "Our beneficiaries-they are very important people who want to protect their privacy."

_More like criminals not wanting an FBI investigation….._

"I assure you Agent Burke, we will increase security," said Daniels, "And do a complete inventory before and after the event."

"Thank you so much for your time, Mr. Daniels," said Lauren quickly. She handed him her card, "If you change your mind, give us a call."

She and Jones then ushered Peter out the door.

"He's hiding something," said Peter.

"Of course he is," said Lauren, "but pissing him off isn't going to give us access."

Peter shook his head, "We can't let Damon get away. Not this time."

"We won't," said Jones, "We'll set a primer around the museum, put up surveillance and wherever Miles Daniels likes it or not, we will have uncovers at that party." He patted Peter on the back, "Don't worry Peter, we have a plan."

* * *

Barely five minutes after Peter, Jones and Lauren left the museum, Damon's phone rang.

"Hello?"

"_Sir? The FBI was here. They know about the chest."_

Damon laughed. "That doesn't surprise me."

"_What should we do?" _

"Nothing," said Damon. He smiled, "Everything is going to plan."

* * *

"You couldn't have warned us about that, huh?" asked Mozzie.

"I tried," said Elizabeth. She rubbed her hair dry with the towel. "But you both were too busy listening to me."

"You could have mentioned that the wood in the tunnel was rotten," said Mozzie.

"I didn't know it would cave under our weight," said Elizabeth. "Or that it would dump us into the East River."

Neal walked into the room, wearing a pair of gray sweatpants and a sweatshirt with a towel hanging around his neck. He smiled at the sound of the two bickering.

The wood flooring in the tunnel had become rotten and when the group stepped on it, the wood caved. They probably would have died if not the East River hadn't cushioned their fall.

"Relax Moz," said Neal. "A dip in the river is refreshing every now and then."

"Yeah because swimming in polluted water is refreshing," said Mozzie sarcastically.

"I think that the important thing," said June, "is that we all are safe and that we landed not far from another one of Mozzie's safe houses."

"I'm beginning to think you have more of these than Starbucks," said Neal.

Mozzie smiled, "Starbucks doesn't have this." He turned on the light and revealed the long table with a blue print.

"Is that the museum?" asked Elizabeth. Mozzie nodded.

"And you just happen to have a blue print of the museum?" asked Elizabeth.

"Yes," said Mozzie. "I have a lot of things stashed away in my safe houses. But that's not the point. The point is we need to come up with a plan."

Neal nodded. He, June and Elizabeth gathered around the table as well.

"Now I reviewed the museum's website," said Mozzie. "And it turns out there are having their big benefit tonight in which they will debut all the new pieces including Robin Hood's chest."

"Can we sneak in as guest?" asked June.

"Not likely," said Neal. "Remember, it's not only Damon we have to get past but the FBI as well. The first thing Peter would have done is notify the museum to warn them of the possible theft. They will most likely be watch the doors and the guest, not to mention they will most likely have people inside." He pointed to the areas on the map.

"So you think Damon will break in at night?" asked Elizabeth

Neal shook his head, "Damon wants the glamor. That's his narcissist personality kicking in. No, he'll definitely use the diner to get in. Our best bet of getting is with the staff here," said Neal. "There'll be less surveillance here at the back."

"Won't the FBI think to look for Damon there?" asked June.

Neal laughed, "No, Damon will never go in as a staff person—he sees it as 'beneath him'." Neal made air quotes. "The good part about this plan is while we have to avoid being spotted by Damon and the FBI but the FBI is only looking for Damon. They won't be looking for us."

"The best way to get in is through the catering staff," said Mozzie. He looked at Elizabeth.

"Normally, I could get us in under the cover of my company," said Elizabeth, "But-"

"Both Damon and the FBI are going to notice a van saying _Burke_ _Events_ on it," said Neal. He paused, "Moz, whose catering the event?"

Mozzie typed in his computer. "It looks like Carmichael Catering."

"Do you know the owner?" Neal asked Elizabeth.

"I do," said Elizabeth. "What are you thinking?"

"Do you think you could convince her to hire a few staff members for the night?" asked Neal.

Elizabeth smiled, "I'm sure I could. Sarah owes me a favor."

"So we'll come in here," said Neal, pointing to the kitchen entrance. "And then we'll come out here into the main floor. The chest is behind held here," Neal pointed to the blue print. "Mozzie and June-you'll work your way here to this closet. Behind this wall are the cords that run electricity and picture to the video cameras. Once there, you think you can get in and hack the video and auto feeds?"

"You have to ask," said Mozzie. "Once we are into the video feed, I will be able to see everything that Damon and the Feds are seeing and I should be able to run previous feed to cover you."

"Meanwhile," said Neal, "Elizabeth and I will work our way here to where the chest is. Once we get there, we will carefully remove the chest without setting off the alarms and move the chest. The best place to hide the chest over here," he pointed to an area on the blue print, "This is the best place to hide it here in this space. Then we just have to get out and hide before Damon gets up there to steal the chest."

"Is that all?" asked Elizabeth, weakly.

"Do this without getting caught," said Neal

"And we should find a way to get close to Damon to put a tracker on him," said Mozzie. "That way we can keep track of where he is and what he's up to." He sighed, "It will have to be one of you two-" he pointed to Elizabeth or June-"because he'll recognize Neal or myself."

"About that," said Neal. "I've been thinking…if we are going to get by the FBI and Damon…" he paused and then took a deep breath. "You still talk to Carl?"

Mozzie smiled, "You bet. I'll go make a phone call."

"Whose Carl?" asked Elizabeth.

"You'll find out," said Neal. He paused, "You girls sure you want to do this? Because if you want to back out, now would be the time."

Elizabeth and June shared a glance before turning back to Neal.

"Of course we're in," both June and Elizabeth said.

"Don't worry, Neal," said Elizabeth, "We've got a good plan."

"You bet we do," said Neal. He smiled, "Let's go pull of the crime of the century."

* * *

A nice long chapter to get through you through the week. And a little teeny tiny cliff hanger; you barely need any climbing gear for this one. ;-)

Please R&R! Reviews encourage me to write faster!


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